Assessing damage is difficult as water still rising.
Reservoirs still rising, making new flooding likely in some areas near Lake Houston
By Mihir Zaveri and Mike Morris
Runoff from this week’s downpour continued to make its way south and east along swollen waterways Wednesday, promising to increase flood dangers in those parts of the county as officials raced to get a handle on the damage and residents in west Harris County warily eyed the rising levels in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.
While brief rains Wednesday did not create any significant additional problems, rainwater from the days before continued to dump into the San Jacinto River, meaning more flooding for areas north and south of Lake Houston. Meanwhile, officials said water was expected to continue pooling above the Addicks and Barker dams, flooding streets and, likely, some homes there.
“The water that’s going into the reservoir is going to rise for some time, and it will rise slowly,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. “There will be a lot of people who are rightfully concerned as they watch and see the water continuing to rise and come closer to their sub-
divisions.”
He said Highway 6, between Clay and Park Row, could be closed for four to six weeks because of water continuing to seep from the rain-soaked north and northwest Harris County.
Sunday and Monday’s rains dropped 240 billion gallons of water across the county, the most the area had seen in 15 years, flooding Cypress Creek, Greenspoint, Meyerland, Inwood Forest and Acres Homes ares. Emergency crews still were rescuing people in the north part of the county as teams raced to complete a critical assessment that officials said was needed before federal emergency dollars could flow to the area. River’s still rising
Houston City Councilman Dave Martin expressed particular concern about Kingwood, noting that the San Jacinto River water level already had passed 57 feet — 4 feet higher than it reached during last year’s Memorial Day floods.
The Harris County Flood Control District said the river was expected to crest Thursday with continued flooding of streets and some homes, particularly affecting the Highlands, Banana Bend and Rio Villa communities.
By Wednesday afternoon, 60 homes in Kingwood had flooded, and Houston Fire Department personnel had rescued 30 people, Martin said. Residents in some areas had been asked to evacuate voluntarily, and buses were available to shuttle them to a civic center in nearby New Caney.
“Most of them are choosing to stay, though,” Martin said. “They’re just going from first floor to second floor, but it’s going to rise. I’d rather they get out to safe ground, go to one of these shelters before they can’t get out and then we’re forced to do more rescues.”
The councilman said he had spoken with the governor’s office to inquire about slowing the rate of release from the waterways that feed into the Lake Houston area. Lake Conroe was releasing 7,000 cubic feet per second, Spring Creek was releasing 29,000, Cypress Creek was releasing 14,000 and Lake Creek was releasing 9,000.
“The problem is, we can’t send enough water through the Lake Houston dam out into the Gulf at the rate we’re taking it on,” Martin said. “We just can’t get rid of it that fast. I’m trying to figure out how we monitor these levels. It’s a mess.”
Emmett said at a news conference Wednesday that roadways around Addicks Reservoir — including Highway 6 — and some homes could be affected as streams and waterways continue to dump water into the reservoir. Army Corps of Engineers officials said they were not yet ready to release water from the dam so as to not create problems below the dams.
Addicks Reservoir is expected to rise 3 feet and Barker Reservoir 2 ½ feet in the next week, an Army Corps of Engineers official said. Damage data pending
Emmett said the county still was working on a damage assessment that it hoped to submit to state and federal officials. The county would need to reach a threshold of more than $14 million to be eligible for certain federal disaster and emergency funds.
High waters so far have impeded the county’s efforts to get a full estimate of the damage, which Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokesman Francisco Sanchez said could take days as teams move from house to house to tally damage totals.
The city’s office of emergency management reported that damage assessment teams had completed close to 1,000 assessments, but the city, like the county, could not yet report a total.
“We have a lot of ground to cover,” said Melvin Hopkins, one of the inspectors who spent time in the Meyerland and Greenspoint areas. “Basically, all four corners of the city.”
Sanchez said relief came much more quickly in the aftermath of the Memorial Day floods because the city lost a $25 million sewer treatment plant, rocketing the area toward its threshold, and the state was able to bundle several cities’ damage over several days together as one disaster.
This time, the process is expected to take longer, which could delay funding to some residents for home repairs.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, Sanchez said almost 900 buildings had been damaged, with a rough estimate of $8.1 million.
Also Wednesday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said he would appoint a flood czar to coordinate regional agencies’ attempts to limit damage from severe storms.
“I said very early on in my administration that flooding would be a very high priority. What has happened recently only accentuates the importance of moving on it,” he said. “I intend to do that and give that person the sole responsibility of pulling together all the different stakeholders and coming up with a definitive plan on how to address flooding in the city of Houston.” School still out for some
This week’s flooding proves drainage is a regional issue, Turner said, and will take developers, neighborhood leaders, engineers and businesses, as well as city, county and federal officials at the table to address.
One emphasis, he said, should be on increasing stormwater detention in the region. Detention ponds store water that otherwise would flow into the bayou system, in hopes that channels do not burst their banks, as they did Monday.
Turner also announced he hoped to address residents’ confusion about how to help flood victims by setting up a Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund to accept donations.
Schools continued to be affected by floods, as some of the area’s largest districts, including Cypress-Fairbanks and Katy, plan to remain closed through Friday, keeping nearly 200,000 students out of class for five straight weekdays.
Some reprieve came as Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday that school districts that canceled classes due to flooding will not have to make up two of the days.
Those that missed more time can work with the Texas Education Agency on other options, such as adding extra minutes onto days or turning a teacher work day into a regular school day.