This year’s Tax Day Flood was a wake-up call for Houstonians to look more closely at the role nature can in stemming flood damage. After April 18, there was talk of major hardscape improvements to make the region less susceptible to flooding — to the tune of as much as $26 billion, by some estimates. But comparatively little attention was devoted to upgrades to Houston’s green infrastructure — its forests, prairies, wetlands, and bays — systems that can provide cost-effective and efficient ways to help manage the problem while reducing the need to invest so heavily in traditional structural improvements.

Open land, covered in native plants, soaks up water. According to a recent Harris County Flood Control District study of the Katy Prairie (located west/northwest of Houston), “it appears that one acre of prairie would increase the infiltration capacity of undeveloped land by 3.52 inches in a 100-year flood event.” This is due not only to the prairie’s embedded wetlands but also to the structure of native grasses; their root systems extend underground ten feet or more.

During the Tax Day Flood, the Katy Prairie Preserve System became a temporary Water World. We know that the Katy Prairie is not an endlessly magic sponge. Yet those of us who saw the immense sheet of water spread across the prairie shuddered to think how much worse downstream flooding might have been if the Katy Prairie Preserve System and the surrounding farms and ranches had been covered by concrete instead of ultra-absorbent grasslands and wooded streams.

Saving the prairie — and its flood-mitigating power — can be done at a fraction of the cost of conventional infrastructure. Saving the prairie also offers collateral benefits: retaining prime farm and ranch land; enhancing wildlife habitat; and providing places for us all to connect with nature.

Besides discussing flooding, our area is also in the midst of a spirited debate about how best to protect our coast from future hurricanes. If you’ve followed the issue, you’re familiar with bold measures such as the Ike Dike and Centennial Gate proposals or the compromise Mid-bay Plan. But less attention has been paid to how enhanced marshes can help dissipate tidal surges while also providing economic benefits, both from tourism and healthier fishing stocks. Here again, it behooves us to consider the parallel benefits of nature-based projects to supplement more conventional interventions as nature can provide a well-balanced strategy for flood protection and help avert catastrophic storm damage.

We can also use native plants in our communities to help make the urban fabric more sponge-like. Various groups are exploring ways to encourage and initiate “neighborhood greenways.” Such neighborhood improvements will make streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and will also have appreciable flood-reduction benefits. Often such projects incorporate rain gardens loaded with beneficial native plants to soak up rainwater. In turn these native plants provide vital food for pollinators, such as bees and monarch butterflies. And they create a more verdant, healthy habitat for humans, too. Let’s not forget that increasing the presence of nature in cities has been shown to lessen the intensity and extent of urban heat islands.

Moreover, softening and augmenting the city with natural ecosystems can be of economic benefit. Studies by Professor John Crompton of Texas A&M University demonstrate that property values often rise near parks and greenspaces — this is why many of Houston’s most desirable neighborhoods are replete with natural amenities.

Now is our time to deploy Houston’s native plants and ecosystems to complement — and do some of the heavy lifting for — more conventional infrastructure. This hybrid approach will be less costly, more sustainable, and more attractive in the bargain. It is an offer we shouldn’t refuse.

Mary Anne Piacentini is executive director of the Katy Prairie Conservancy; Jaime González is conservation director of the Katy Prairie Conservancy; and Deborah January-Bevers is president and CEO of Houston Wilderness. They wrote this on behalf of the Gulf-Houston Regional Conservation Plan.

Native plant sale and workshop On September 10, the Houston chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas presents its 2016 Wildscapes Workshop and Native Plant Sale, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Houston Community College – West Loop Center, 5601 W. Loop South. The daylong workshop includes a panel discussion, "Valuing Houston's Native Landscapes vs. Flooding, Storm Damage, Heat Island, Climate Change," by Jaime González, Deborah January-Bevers, John Jacob and Stephen Benigno. Pre-registration required before September 7. $50 per person includes snacks, lunch, admission to all sessions and face-to-face meetings with native plant experts. ($40 if registration is before Aug. 27.) For information call (832)859-9252 or email nphouston3@gmail.com.