We were proud to host representatives from the Texas Water Development Board for a subsidence tour to learn more about greater Houston area subsidence and the importance of reducing reliance on groundwater to prevent further subsidence.
During the tour, we visited the Baytown Nature Center, the former home of the Brownwood Subdivision that had to be abandoned in the 1980s due to over nine feet of subsidence. Thank you to John Ellis, P.G. and Jason Ramage for presenting data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to gain better insight into the severity of subsidence as it impacted the Brownwood Subdivision. Additionally, we thank Christina Butcher for providing a VIP tour of the Baytown Nature Center, where we saw the remains of homes that are now submerged in the bay and the importance of the nature center preserving history – turning what was once a devastating story into a beautiful park for the community and wildlife refuge.
We also visited a local GPS monitoring station, a survey benchmark, and two extensometers to see the variety of credible data collection methods and continued collaboration with trusted federal and academic agencies for measuring and monitoring subsidence.
“The better the data, the better the science, the better the planning.” TWDB Chairwoman, Brooke Paup.
Thank you to the Texas Water Development Board and the incredible work they do as they lead the state’s efforts to ensure a secure water future for Texas.