The Buffalo Bayou watershed is located in the western portion of the City of Houston. Most of the watershed is located within the City of Houston limits, with small portions falling in various unincorporated villages and ETJ zones. It is bounded by White Oak Bayou to the north and Brays Bayou to the south. Terrain in the watershed is generally flat with Buffalo Bayou draining east into the Houston Ship Channel. The watershed within City limits is mostly developed, consisting of a mix of single-family residential development, commercial, and industrial land uses with pockets of parks and open spaces.
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Modeling results indicate that flooding at the upstream end of the watershed is largely a result of the Buffalo Bayou floodplain and is primarily an issue in larger storm events that exceed bank capacity. However, downstream of Beltway 8, insufficient storm sewer capacity in older neighborhoods drives frequent flooding.
Major neighborhood flooding is seen in the Second Ward, Greater Fifth Ward, and surrounding industrial areas starting in the 2-year event. Flooding in the frequent events is driven by outdated storm sewer systems with inadequate capacity. In larger events, such as the 100- and 500-year events, flooding is exasperated by the Buffalo Bayou floodplain which expands over most of the downstream portion of the watershed. Similar frequent flooding caused by insufficient storm sewer capacity is seen in areas north of IH-10 and the Addicks Reservoir area.
