Leveraging Parks for Water Quality Improvement A Case Study in Houston

In 2012, the City of Houston successfully proposed matching private sector investment with bond funding to create an urban park system along 9 of the major bayous within the City limits in a project known as Bayou Greenways 2020. This $215 million project adds nearly 1,500 acres of additional parkland along the riparian corridors, and has measurable water quality and flood mitigation benefits. While the investment totaled $215 million, the environmental, economic, and health benefits from the project were estimated at over $70 million per year –an amazing return on a public investment. In partnership with the Houston Parks Board, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating, improving, protecting and advocating for parkland in the Greater Houston region, the project has an expected completion date of 2020.This paper will highlight the public private partnership that created this opportunity and explore the water quality benefits that were originally articulated in a benefits model focused on preserving land along the bayous. The paper then addresses further steps taken as the City and the non-profit Houston Parks Board addressed maintaining the new greenways, including examination of litter control. Finally, as the City’s MS4 permit approaches renewal, a comparison to other Phase 1 permits will be presented highlighting how some permits have already required entities to examine land acquisition like this as a measurable improvement of water quality. It concludes the by leveraging parks, public participation will often be overwhelming supportive and the project’s impact can be recouped by multiple sectors.