GEAA 2026 Water Wonks Hour Lecture Series #9: An overview of the Nature-Based Solutions from The Nature Conservancy (Texas Chapter’s) Flood Resilience Guidance Manual.
GEAA 2026 Water Wonks Hour Lecture Series #9: An overview of the Nature-Based Solutions from The Nature Conservancy (Texas Chapter’s) Flood Resilience Guidance Manual.
The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is pleased to introduce our 2026 Water Wonks Lecture Series. Mark your calendars for 3:30 p.m. on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Water Wonks will feature a host of experts sharing innovative ideas and details about their work in the world of water. The series is a free community education opportunity.
Synopsis:
Flooding remains one of the most costly and persistent hazards facing Texas communities. Homes, roadways, utilities, businesses, and public infrastructure are repeatedly impacted by flood events across every region of the state. As communities grow and land use patterns change, runoff increases, drainage systems are strained, and the consequences of flooding can become more severe. Traditional flood mitigation tools—detention basins, levees, floodwalls, and storm drain systems—are essential components of community infrastructure; however, these systems are often single-purpose, expensive to expand, and difficult to adapt as conditions change.
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) use or imitate natural features and/or processes to increase resilience while providing sustainable benefits to people and the environment. When designed to store runoff, slow flows, increase infiltration, reconnect floodplains, stabilize shorelines, and reduce erosion, NBS are an opportunity for communities across Texas to reduce flood risk while also strengthening long-term infrastructure performance and delivering broader community value.
NBS are not theoretical concepts—they are being successfully implemented across Texas. Examples include floodplain buyouts in North Texas, stormwater parks in Houston, regional watershed planning in Bexar County, and living shoreline projects along the coast. This presentation provides an overview of TWDB’s Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Resilience in Texas guidance manual, which features many NBS examples across the state and provides the structure to scale them statewide, showing that NBS can be integrated into day-to-day operations, project development, and long-term capital planning.