Empty at Last. Almost.

Buffalo Bayou Reservoirs Finally Drain Last of Flood Waters

July 6, 2016

The last of the storm water from the April 18 Tax Day floods has passed finally  through the gates of Addicks and Barker dams in western Harris County. (Almost, not quite. See comment below.) The reservoirs behind those 1940s-era earthen dams on Buffalo Bayou are normally empty in order to be ready to impound rainfall and runoff that would flood central Houston downstream.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and operates the dams, was forced to release water through the dams at a high rate of flow – between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and more — for nearly three months in order to empty the record-high reservoirs, as frequent rains kept adding to the water level.

Base flow in Buffalo Bayou, as measured by the USGS gauge at Piney Point, is between 100 and 200 cfs. As of today the flow was still high – over 1,000 cfs.

The dams on Buffalo Bayou are classified “extremely high risk,” in large part due to the damage that would occur to the nation’s fourth most populous city if the dams were to fail. A $72 million construction project to repair seepage problems and build new conduits has been delayed due to the high water level in the reservoirs.

You can listen to what Richard Long, who manages the dams for the Corps, had to say about the situation this morning to Dave Fehling of Houston Public Matters. Long is the supervisory natural resources manager for the Corps’ Galveston District and has been working at the dams for 35 years.

And look for a report from us soon about the impact of the high waters on Buffalo Bayou. Richard Hyde, a geologist who lives in neighboring Bear Creek Village, reports that the herds of deer that roam the 25,000 acres of federally-owned wooded parkland in the reservoirs seem greatly reduced. And sadly, Buffy the Bison, rescued in April from the flooded small zoo in Bear Creek Park, died shortly thereafter.

Barker Dam and Reservoir around midday on Sunday, June 5, 2016, as the dam gates were releasing impounded stormwater into Buffalo Bayou. The 12,000-acre reservoir is located just west of Highway 6.

Barker Dam and Reservoir around midday on Sunday, June 5, 2016, as the dam gates were releasing impounded stormwater into Buffalo Bayou. The 12,000-acre reservoir is located just west of Highway 6.

2 thoughts on “Empty at Last. Almost.”

  1. Adam says:

    The flow at their gauge near the outfall might be close to normal but there is still a substantial amount of water in Barker Reservoir remaining from the floods. I was on the trail bordering the old Barker Clodine road Monday night and it was still flooded at least half a mile away from where it crosses over Buffalo Bayou with a lake of water surrounding each side. Same thing goes for all the woods bordering Mason Creek, the Noble Road trail, etc. The biggest problem is the substantial amount of silt the floods left behind which undoubtedly has decreased the capacity of the reservoir for future floods each footstep in most areas you sink a foot down in silt.

    1. Thanks for the update and better detail about the status of the reservoirs. And that sounds like a lot of silt!

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