At its July 28 annual meeting, the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy went over projects scheduled over the next two years, including 8 miles of new trails, the purchasing of an extra acre near Ricecrest Street and Gasmer Drive, and the planting of hundreds of trees in partnership with the Harris County Flood Control District and Trees for Houston.

The area started out as a flood control district with 291 acres of six lakes with 608 million gallons of stormwater capacity, conservancy President Bill Burhans said at the meeting.

After 16 years, the flood components of the Willow Waterhole were completed in 2019 funded by the federal government and constructed by the HCFCD, Burhans said.

On June 20, the conservancy announced a new pier on Westbury Lake is nearing completion in 2022 as the project reached 80% of its funding goal.

The 624-square-foot pier is slated to be a canoe/kayak launch site and a fishing and environmental sampling area.

As part of its $12 million capital campaign, Harris County Precinct 1 allocated $2.5 million for the trails, and more recently Houston-area nonprofit Brown Foundation contributed a $1.5 million grant to the conservancy.