Roseate Spoonbill at Willow Waterhole Greenway (photo: Greg Lavaty).
A Park Is Born
A massive new park is taking shape in southwest Houston. Willow Waterhole Park, located in the Westbury area near the intersection of South Post Oak Road and South Main Street, is a 280-acre development planned to offer Houstonians recreational room as well as relief from flooding concerns.
The overall plan for the park will include a series of ponds designed to hold storm water that could otherwise flood nearby streets and homes. The expanses around the ponds are designed for wildlife conservation and passive recreation, and include walking trails and gazebos. Native plants are being nurtured on the site and additional trees will be planted as ongoing construction projects are finished. It is a great spot for bird watching, stretching the legs, and walking the dog, and once all the pieces are in place it will offer almost limitless exercise opportunities.
A Great Park, A Massive Flood Control Project
Life along Brays Bayou has always been a flirtation with flooding, and through decades of suburban development in southern Houston a number of projects have taken place in the interest of controlling that phenomenon. The most visible, of course, is the channelization of the bayou itself, but a series of floods in the 1970's and Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 have led to increased interest in additional approaches to flood control.
When the proposal to build detention ponds on vacant land near Westbury High School was made in 1996, the idea of developing a park at the site came up. In 1999, the Brays Bayou Association sponsored the formation of a new organization to help establish this park, the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy.
It came together formally as a non-profit organization in 2001 with the intent to aid the Harris County Flood Control District and Houston Parks and Recreation Department in implementing Willow Waterhole Park. Grants from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have been instrumental in launching this project.
Life along Brays Bayou has always been a flirtation with flooding, and through decades of suburban development in southern Houston a number of projects have taken place in the interest of controlling that phenomenon. The most visible, of course, is the channelization of the bayou itself, but a series of floods in the 1970's and Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 have led to increased interest in additional approaches to flood control. 