SOURCE: The National Water Information System

Flooded Fourth: Several Texas lakes closed due to rising water

By: Staff and Wire

Posted: 7/3/07

Thunderstorms hit parts of already soggy Texas on Monday, flooding some roads and inundating some waterways.

The National Weather Service said that a river flood warning remains in effect for the Brazos, Lavaca, Navasota, Navidad, Tres Palacios and Trinity Rivers.

Lake Travis is closed and is projected to peak between 700 and 701 feet above sea level during the next few days.

Krista Umscheid, a spokesperson for LCRA said that floodgate operations at Lake Travis are based on guidelines from the Army Corps of Engineers.

"We follow Army Corps of Engineers guidelines at Lake Travis because it's a flood control reservoir; it was created to minimize flooding of Austin and downstream," Umscheid said.

Floodgate operation decisions are also based on rainfall already on the ground, not on forecasted rainfall, Umscheid said.

Currently four floodgates are open at Mansfield Dam, which runs into Lake Travis. In order to open a fifth gate, the lake would have to be projected to reach above 710 feet.

In other areas of the state, there have been several areas evacuated, and several people rescued.

Two children were rescued from an Arlington drainage channel after their younger sister, 8, who had also fallen in was able to get out and call for help, said Battalion Chief David Stapp of the Arlington Fire Department.

The 10-year-old girl was plucked from a tree, and the 14-year-old boy was rescued from debris half a mile downstream after he had traveled in high, swift-moving water through at least three viaducts, Stapp said.

They were not seriously injured and were "very lucky," he said.

A handful of people had to be rescued from their homes in Laredo. Officer Joe E. Baeza said a city bus carrying several people was among the six or eight vehicles that stalled out in high waters. Everyone was evacuated safely and the waters were receding by early Monday evening.

The National Weather Service reported about 10 inches of rain had fallen by noon Monday at Corpus Christi International Airport.

Several streets were reported closed because of high water in Abilene. A flash flood warning was in effect for several North and West Texas counties Monday evening.

Meanwhile, hundreds of North Texas residents near two rain-swollen rivers remained displaced from their homes because of flooding, power outages or fears of contaminated waters.

In Wichita Falls, about 125 miles northwest of Fort Worth, the 600 homes evacuated last week remain without power, including 400 that are flooded, said city spokesman Barry Levy. Some businesses also flooded.

"It could be anything from wet carpet to (water) halfway up the house," Levy said.

The water has started to recede, and officials may allow folks to return home later this week, Levy said. In the meantime, Health Department officials have administered tetanus vaccinations to more than 300 people, Levy said. The city's drinking water is safe and was not affected by floodwaters, he added.

In Parker County, west of Fort Worth, about 200 of the 2,000 residents living along the Brazos River still cannot get into their homes or travel trailers because of flooding. All residents were allowed to return over the weekend after evacuations late last week.

The Brazos had receded and was about half a foot below the flood stage Monday night. But it was expected to rise because another flood gate was opened Monday morning at Possum Kingdom Lake's dam, a tactic done to prevent the dam from breaking when more heavy rain comes.

"We're not at all saying we're out of the woods," Parker County spokesman Joel Kertok said.

A flash flood watch was in effect for 46 North Texas counties through Wednesday and for 13 West Texas counties and 26 Central Texas counties through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

In Central Texas, a temporary water pump in Marble Falls has restored water to 95 percent of its normal capacity, but city officials were awaiting tests to determine if the water was contaminated. Residents were being advised not to drink or bathe in the city's tap water, spokeswoman Christina Laine said.

Meanwhile, two Leander men remained missing after their SUV was found submerged in a creek near Smithwick late Thursday. Numerous agencies have searched for the men along Hickory Creek and downstream toward Lake Travis in Travis County, and they will continue searching Tuesday, said Lt. Dwight Hardin of the Burnet County Sheriff's Department.

Storms are blamed for at least 11 deaths in Texas since mid-June.

President Bush declared his home state a major disaster area Friday, ordering federal aid for six counties. Officials in Parker County have asked to be added to that list.

- Associated Press writer April Castro in Austin and Battalion News Editor Kari Miller contributed to this report.