Natural Oasis in an Urban Jungle

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Before becoming a capital city in the Republic of Texas, the Austin area was once known by the name “Waterloo.” Today, the name Waterloo represents the city of Austin in a whole new way. 

Last August, the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy (once named Waller Creek Conservancy) announced a plan to restore a 1.5-mile piece of Waller Creek along with the construction of a new park system, stretching from 15th St. to Lady Bird Lake. 

“Ultimately, the biggest goal is to just get more people falling in love with the natural world, even if it’s just right downtown,” Capital projects manager Michelle Bright said. “We’re making the city for a common community of organisms that live together, recognize each other and appreciate each other.”

The plan features several destinations that are grouped into three phases. Phase one is scheduled to open next fall and includes Waterloo Park and Moody Amphitheater, a 5,000 person venue inside of Waterloo Park. C3 and Livenation, both event companies, are partnering with the conservancy to host commercial shows at the amphitheater that generate revenue for Waterloo Greenway operations. Phase two will include Palm Park, the pontoon bridge and the Refuge. Phase three, the final phase, will consist of the Creek Delta.

“The conservancy is charged with operations, maintenance and perpetuity,” Director of engagement Meredith Bossin said. “Even though it is public city land, we will be responsible for operating it, and so those revenue-generating shows will be part of how we’re able to do that.”

Bright says sites like Waterloo Park will show how different destinations of the greenway have a stronger emphasis on either natural or urban sides of the project.

 “Depending on where you’re gonna be in the Waterloo Greenway, you’ll have a different experience,” Bright said. “Some areas will be balanced more towards nature, you’ll feel like you’re encompassed in this more natural, riparian area. And then there are other areas where you feel like you’re part of the community and there is somebody sitting next to you on the bench.”

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The design team working with the conservancy, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., is known for a wide variety of urban design projects. Their well-balanced work was shown in the Brooklyn Bridge Park, where they restored natural areas with protective plant species while also creating areas for human recreation. 

“They tend to be really unique about the way they plant things,” said Bright. “They don’t just plant turf grass and a tree, they really make a plant community.”

Yet, there are still some Austinites familiar with Waller Creek who have mixed views on the project plans. Environmental science sophomore Madison Howard took a field course where she spent time at Waller Creek and has been following the Waterloo Greenway project since last year. She thinks the addition of sidewalk trails to the parks could be counterproductive.

“That’s adding more impervious cover to the area, which kind of defeats the purpose of putting in vegetation to prevent erosion because that leads to more runoff. But, it is ADA accessible,” Howard said. “There are a lot of different things they have to balance.” 

Increased urbanization over the years has created more impervious cover, areas where rainwater can’t soak into the water table, in the downtown area with places such as sidewalks or parking. Waller Creek is an urban watershed, meaning that a majority of the runoff from the city heads there. It is also federally impaired for bacteria due to causes like high levels of E. coli and fecal coliform. 

“The health of the creek right now is really degraded,” Bossin said. “There’s a lot of erosion. There’s a lot of invasive species. There’s a lot of litter.”

While the addition of vegetation and other restoration methods will most likely rehabilitate the creek, another concern is maintaining the improved health of Waller Creek in the time following the completion of the project.

“We are looking into ways to put in what we call in-pipe, so that when you have a stormwater pipe, you can put in these systems that collect trash or collect pollution,” Bright said. “It’s hard because you have to keep those up. You have to send somebody out there to pull trash out of these inlets so they don’t overflow.”

In addition to measures like these, the conservancy will have an everyday crew in partnership with the city that will maintain the creek and parks.

“I think they’re doing a pretty good job with it,” Howard said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how their ideas pan out. I want to see if the project increases the water quality.”

While the first phase of Waterloo Greenway will open this fall, other destinations such as the Creek Delta, the phase three destination that sits at the mouth of Waller Creek, are already in the works. The entirety of the greenway is expected to be completed by 2026.

Art by Lauren Head

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