Tyler Gentry
Fall 09 – E-Studio
The city of Houston is just 40+/- feet above sea level. Hurricanes, flash flooding, and tropical storms are all problematic events that the 4th largest city in the United States must deal with. The question at hand is whether we should pursue ways to deal with the flooding or ways to prevent the flooding. In the past, the damage has been tremendous; families have been left stranded and without homes. The bayou does a good job of relieving the area of typical rain storms; however, the bayou can only move so much water so fast before it encroaches into the city. Dealing with this issue is not a simple task, prevention is the ideal scenario. For the most part, the bayou is located 30 +/- feet below the city, leaving it only 10 +/- feet above sea level. As the bayou rapidly fills with water during intense rain storms, the flow into the gulf slows tremendously. We must relocate the water in order to keep it out of homes, businesses, schools and churches, while keeping the streets usable and safe.
I’ve taken a look at precedent conditions in places such as Boston, Massachusetts. They have used retention as a means of relocating the water to relieve the city of a flood. However, the bayou system throughout Harris County is tremendous; there is hardly adequate space for retention to keep the city from flooding. Also, as seen in precedent studies, water retention leads to future problems such as unhygienic water, diseases, mosquitoes and other troubles. Dealing with these issues later on can cost millions of dollars. Beyond this, the city of Houston needs as much water as possible to supply the 4+ million occupants with consumer water. As impervious land cover grows, flooding can become more of a problem. The water must be relocated in a means which does not contribute to the impervious land cover.
The design generated from this research is simply a tank system that is lifted above grade, allowing the captured water to obtain water pressure and be sent to water purification plants for public use. The system is comprised of a tank, the structure for the tank, electric pumps on top of the tank with a filtration system, and the tentacle like tubes that pull water from the bayou’s edge. Removing flood water near the bayou and sending it to a tank for temporary holding can reduce the city’s flood water in great proportions. The tank elements will be located in various locations throughout each bayou with consideration of flood prone areas. The idea is to remove the water from these areas first. In a careful look at the context of the city, the forms of the tank, and integration with existing infrastructure, the system has been designed.
Once the flooding rains begin, the city will naturally drain to the bayou system. Once the water in the bayou exceeds its limit, causing the waters to reach heights of flood potential, the water will trigger a floating switch at the end of each tentacle. Once this switch is triggered, a signal will be sent back to the tank system and it will begin pumping water. As the vacuum pump begins, water will flow through the tentacle tube, through a rough filtration system to keep out debris, and into the holding tanks. The filtration plants will have control of opening the tanks to bring in the water for filtration and re-use. If there is no need for the water at that time, it can also be slowly released back into the bayou once the water levels have gone down. Keeping the excess water out of streets and homes and in a state where it can be used if needed appears to be the ultimate solution to Houston’s flooding problems.
The design has been redeveloped several times in order to be more conscious of the city’s urban fabric. Integration into the city is key, utilizing opportunistic spaces throughout the city, while making use of its existing infrastructure and not impacting the city in an overwhelming way. The design strives to leave opportunity for use in and around the structures and their tanks.