Harris County commissioners voted Thursday to partner with University of Houston researchers on a study of floating vegetated islands. The islands are at the Stormwater Detention Basin at Reverend William and Audrey Lawson Park. The Harris County Flood Control District said they were installed there this spring.
According to the district, the islands are made of recycled plastic with holes filled with native wetland plants, and their roots hang into the water. Jonathan Holley, the district's environmental services department manager, said the roots help remove pollutants, sediment and nutrients from stormwater before it reaches local bayous and waterways. Holley said the district wants another tool to remove stormwater pollutants.
The three-year study will cost more than $500,000, the district said. Holley said most of the funding comes from a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant, and the rest from a 2018 Flood Control Bond. The study will monitor water quality and pollutant removal and track how the plants develop and what maintenance is needed. The long-term goal is to determine whether the islands could be used at flood control detention basins across the region.