The latest episode of APWA's Roving Reporter explores what happens when a forgotten piece of public infrastructure gets a second life.

Deep beneath Houston, Texas, sits the Buffalo Bayou Park cistern, a remarkable piece of the city's history that once served as a municipal drinking-water reservoir. Constructed in 1926, this massive underground structure held up to 15 million gallons of water before eventually being taken out of service.

Rather than letting this piece of infrastructure fade into history, Caitlin Ferrell, director of marketing and communications for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, explains how they helped transform it into something entirely different: a one-of-a-kind public destination where history, architecture, and art come together.

From preserving historic infrastructure to creating new cultural experiences, the cistern offers an inspiring example of how sustainability can mean looking at what we already have and imagining what it could become. Because sometimes, the best way forward is to give something from the past a new purpose.

You can find past episodes of the American Public Works Association's (APWA) Roving Reporter series on their Resource Center and YouTube channel.

Watch the Episode or read the accompanying article