Exploration Green Earns National ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Honor Award

A former golf course in Clear Lake has become a nationally recognized model for flood mitigation, environmental restoration, and community resilience. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) selected the Exploration Green Detention Facility for a 2026 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Honor Award, recognizing projects that demonstrate innovation, sustainability, and significant contributions to society.

Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) served as the lead design engineer for the Exploration Green project on behalf of the Clear Lake City Water Authority (CLCWA). The project transformed a defunct 178-acre golf course into a multi-functional stormwater detention facility and public nature park designed to reduce flooding while enhancing quality of life for the surrounding community.

The facility consists of five interconnected wet-bottom detention ponds capable of holding approximately 500 million gallons of stormwater, enough capacity to detain a 100-year storm event. The project protects more than 2,000 homes from flooding and demonstrated its effectiveness during Hurricane Harvey, when the partially completed system helped protect more than 150 homes from floodwaters.

Spanning more than 880 acres, the project includes 153 acres of restored native habitat, 14 acres of wetlands, 6.1 miles of ADA-compliant hike-and-bike trails, athletic fields, and open green space. More than 3,500 native trees and countless grasses and shrubs were planted to support biodiversity and improve water quality before runoff enters Horsepen Bayou and Galveston Bay.

ASCE’s OCEA program recognizes projects that exemplify superior civil engineering skills and contribute meaningfully to civil engineering progress and society.