Houston wants your feedback on storm water detention rules

A culvert leads into a small lake at Willow Waterhole, a still-under-construction 280-acre chain of linked parks in southwest Houston, Oct. 28, 2009 in Houston. The park offers an exciting solution to both problems: From industrial or other unloved land, create stormwater detention basins that double as parks. In the finished parts of the park, the landscaping is still growing in -- but already it's clear that someday, the park will be lovely. And already its wetlands attract over a hundred species of birds. less A culvert leads into a small lake at Willow Waterhole, a still-under-construction 280-acre chain of linked parks in southwest Houston, Oct. 28, 2009 in Houston. The park offers an exciting solution to both ... more Photo: Eric Kayne, For The Chronicle Photo: Eric Kayne, For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston wants your feedback on storm water detention rules 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Mayor Sylvester Turner's administration is progressing with regulatory changes aimed at reducing the future risk of flood damage in Houston, this time inviting public feedback on proposed changes to the city's storm water detention rules.

Detention — the practice of requiring developers to hold back storm water on their properties and release it slowly into the surrounding drainage system — is the city's main method of improving flood control through regulation as sites develop or redevelop over time.

Houston Public Works is soliciting feedback on these and other storm water regulations through an online survey that will remain live through the end of July. Public Works Director Carol Haddock has the power to implement these changes without council approval (these rules are in the city's Infrastructure Design Manual, not the code of ordinances), but said she intends to seek council's blessing in a late August vote anyway.

The detention recommendations come from a task force headed by the city's flood czar, Steve Costello. The final report from that group -- which met last fall and winter and was comprised of a few dozen engineers, developers, government officials and civic leaders -- can be found here.

In addition to detention, the task force also discussed ways to address issues caused when extra "fill" dirt is added to a property (water being shed on neighboring lots, for instance) and the problem of citizens impeding drainage in the public right of way by, for example, filling in their roadside ditches to create a parking space for themselves.

For context, check out this December 2016 story that discusses some of the issues surrounding detention and other storm water rules, or see this more recent post that walks through the drainage rule changes Turner's administration has been discussing.

There also is this presentation that went to a city council committee last week, summarizing the Costello task force's recommendations. (You can watch the hearing itself here; Costello and Public Works Director Carol Haddock start about 54 minutes in and talk for about 50 minutes).

For an overview of the city's Hurricane Harvey recovery effort, you can also check out this presentation recovery czar Marvin Odum delivered to the council last week (or watch the video of the hour-long discussion here; Odum takes the podium about 39 minutes in.)