From reclamation to restoration: Trinity River common vision for the 21st century

Abstract

For most of the past 150 years, the dream for the Trinity River in north central Texas was that of a federally‐funded navigation canal with barges transporting goods more than 300 miles to and from the Gulf of Mexico. An 1898 promotional button proclaimed the dream: “Dallas ‐ The Inland Seaport of Texas.” Since then the region has grown into America's largest metropolitan region located on an inland waterway. The region's population now exceeds 6 million; its area is about 33,000 square kilometers. When the 19th‐century dream of a barge canal died in the early 1980's because of changing federal priorities, it was replaced by new local pressures to fill and reclaim significant portions of the floodplain. Studies by the US Army Corps of Engineers with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) demonstrated the devastating effects that massive reclamation would have on existing properties, especially to the downstream Dallas levee system. From these important discussions emerged an unprecedented local/state/federal partnership to more comprehensively address the problems and opportunities of the river corridor and watershed towards a Trinity River Common Vision for the 21st‐century: • Safe Trinity River, with stabilization and reduction of flooding risks; • Clean Trinity River, with fishable and swimmable waters; • Enjoyable Trinity River, with recreational opportunities linked by a Trinity Trails System within a world‐class greenway; • Natural Trinity River, with preservation and restoration of riparian and cultural resources; • Diverse Trinity River, with local and regional economic, transportation, and other public needs met. This paper describes the evolution of the Trinity River Common Vision over the past 20 years, highlights successful regionwide projects to stabilize and reduce flood risks such as the innovative Corridor Development Certificate process, and shows the remarkable progress of the region's three largest cities ‐ Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington. All illustrate the movement from reclamation to restoration, from structural to non‐structural, from a 19th‐century barge canal to a 21st‐century Trinity River Common Vision.