Hurricane Harvey: Flood Control District Releases More Water Into Buffalo Bayou

HOUSTON, TX — The Harris County Flood Control District began the release of water from the swollen confines of the Barker Reservoir and Addicks Reservoir in west Harris County, into Buffal Bayou early Monday.

The flood control district released nearly 5,000 cubic feet of water per second on Monday morning, and gradually increased the amount of water to 8,000 cubic feet per second until about noon. (Want to get daily updates about Hurricane Harvey and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

“The amount of water that is behind Barker and Addicks — if they don’t release it, it (water) will go around those reservoirs, and create a major problem,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said during his morning press conference.

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When the water flows downstream, it will add more water into Buffalo Bayou, which flows southeast through downtown and into Galveston bay.

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Turner said the flood level on Buffalo Bayou are steady right now with the initial release, but as those levels increase, flooding downstream could occur.

Turner said he’d spoken with Russ Poppe, executive director for the Harris County Flood Control District, and asked him to explain what it would mean for residents downstream.

“They were still doing their modeling and could not specify at this time,” Turner said.

The release of water from reservoirs during heavy rain events is relatively common, particularly after a major rain event, and is often done to alleviate flooding along some waterways.

The fact that the rain ceased for a little while in Houston Sunday evening and in the overnight hours, allowed the rainfall that flooded some of the creeks and bayous in since Saturday to subside.

Turner said even though the water in Buffalo Bayou will not be down soon, the flood control district had to release water from the dams to ensure both facilities were able to handle the next rain event, predicted to happen in the next 24 hours.

Turner said flood levels along the bayou could rise as a result.

“If they don’t do it....it will go around Addicks [and Barker] and the situation will be exponentially worse,” Turner said.

Steve Costello, Houston’s Chief Resiliencey Officer, said the city has had conversations about the reservoirs with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who built the reservoirs that they were going to begin the water discharge into the bayou.

Generally before a flood, the flood gates are closed to help contain the water from upstream sources, particularly when streams and bayous downstream are already flooding.

“The issue here is that they are getting a lot of water in the watershed very quickly, so they are doing a controlled release rate,” Costello said. “At the same time, while they are releasing water from the reservoir, they are also real time monitoring the water levels in Buffalo Bayou.”

Costello said he didn’t believe the release would increase any flood risks downstream, and that the levels would likely remain pretty steady.

Turner is expected to provide an update Monday afternoon.

Cutline: A car is submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, near downtown Houston, Texas. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.

Image: (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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