Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2008TX310B

Using SWAT to Compare Planning Methods for Neighborhoods: Case Study of Stormwater in The Woodlands, Texas

Institute: Texas
Year Established: 2008 Start Date: 2008-03-01 End Date: 2009-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $19,623

Principal Investigators: Bo Yang, Ming-Han Li

Project Summary: The Woodlands, Texas, has been well known as a town created with Ian McHargs ecological planning concept, in which land use is determined based on environmental data; particularly, soil permeability. Despite numerous studies that used The Woodlands as the study site, very few quantitatively measured the effect of planning methods on stormwater. This study will investigate the impacts of different planning methods for neighborhoods on stormwater quantity and quality. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) will be used to create three planning scenarios for a built neighborhood development: the Grogans Mill, in The Woodlands. These three simulated scenarios will be compared to observed data for Grogans Mills current and 1970s conditions. Observed data will be collected from a US Geologic Survey (USGS) gaging station. The results of this study will indicate that using soil permeability to determine densities and land use is an effective planning method to mitigate environmental impacts; particularly, stormwater quantity and quality.