One bayou meanders toward downtown Houston. The other runs in parallel to the south, much of it through a concrete channel.
One bayou meanders toward downtown Houston. The other runs in parallel to the south, much of it through a concrete channel.
Which is better at preventing floods? Researchers at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering give the nod to nature.
In studying the evolution of flood plains based on Houston’s Buffalo and Brays bayous, the researchers associated with Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters Center determined Buffalo’s largely natural form has proven better at absorbing floodwater and preventing it from spilling over into heavily populated areas.
An open-access paper in the Journal of Flood Risk Management details Rice models that show how flood plains have evolved and will evolve over a 70-year span, up to 2040.
Read more at Rice University
Image: Buffalo Bayou in Houston. A Rice University comparison of flood plains around Houston's two major bayous shows the natural Buffalo Bayou is far better at managing floodwaters than the channelized Brays Bayou. (Credit: Andrew Juan/Rice University)
