Summary
In recent years, severe storms and catastrophic flooding along the Gulf Coast have caused water quality issues in bays and estuaries and contributes to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico through increased nutrient and sediment loads and suppression of oxygen exchange. These events have shown that stormwater and wastewater infrastructures for many coastal and near-coastal communities are inadequately prepared for the frequency and magnitude of these storms. Infrastructure upgrades are costly to implement and maintain and many smaller urban and rural coastal communities do not have the resources to complete infrastructure upgrades that will enhance their area’s storm resiliency. Texas has been working to implement the Coastal Nonpoint Source (CNPS) Program which includes promoting and facilitating implementation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in small urban and urbanizing coastal areas.
This project will use Texas GLO Coastal Management Program (CMP) Cycle 24 funds, in a joint effort between University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and Lamar University (LU) to produce a decision framework. It provide opportunities for coastal communities to assess their exposure to flooding risk using up-to-date precipitation frequency estimates and determine the most cost-effective measures to implement to address stormwater runoff and downstream water quality issues arising from flood events. The resultant decision support system (DSS) will allow communities to appraise the cost-effectiveness of stormwater best management practices (BMPs), constructed wetlands and detention basins, in mitigating the impacts of flooding on flooding and water quality in the lower Neches River, which is highly vulnerable to flooding. The SWMM-based DSS will be applied to the analysis a set of hypothetical BMP implementations in consultation with the Lower Neches Valley Authority (LNVA) and Jefferson and Orange County Drainage Districts. The analysis will yield a table of the cost of BMP implementation, estimate flood risk reductions and potential improvements to water quality.
The project will focus on the lower 20 miles of the Neches River from the confluence of Pine Island Bayou to the intersection of Interstate Highway 10 to evaluate the impact of the stormwater runoff and downstream water quality issues arising from flood events. The defined section of the Neches River’s drainage area is 79.6 square miles, and its watershed is located within the Jefferson, Orange, and Jasper counties of Texas. The Neches River flows to the Sabine Lake and Galveston Bay, one of the most important commercial fisheries and ports in the western Gulf of Mexico.
Location map the study area
Funding information
Texas GLO Coastal Management Program (CMP)
Link to data products
https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/3991820775b646469f71a6de87c00776/