Hydrologic investigations of urban watersheds in Texas were begun by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1954. Studies are now in progress in Austin, Dallas and Dallas County, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Houston, began studies in the Houston metropolitan area in 1964. The program was expanded in 1968 to include collection of water-quality data. The objectives of the Houston urban hydrology study are as follows:1. To determine, on the basis of historical data and hydrologic analyses, the magnitude and frequency of flood peaks and flood volume; 2. To determine the effect of urban development on flood peaks and volume; 3. To ascertain the variation in water quality for different flow conditions and different seasons.
This report, the fourteenth in a series of reports to be published annually, is primarily applicable to objective 2. The report presents the basic hydrologic data collection in the Houston urban area for the1977 water year (October 1976 to September 1977).
A previous report by Johnson and Sayre (April 1973) utilized records collected from 1965 to 1969 to make a study of the effects of urbanization on floods in the Houston area. The report also summarizes various basin parameters.
