FLOODING ALONG TRINITY RIVER REMINDED DALLAS IT STILL NEEDS A PUMP STATION, LEVEE IT CAN’T PAY FOR

Original Story: dallasnews.com

First, Dallas’ officials in charge of the Trinity River — or, more specifically, the still-flooded Trinity River — want to focus on the good news, which is: The levees near downtown are working, which is to say downtown and Trinity Groves and the Design District aren’t under water. “The system, knock on wood, has held up well,” says assistant city manager Mark McDaniel, who was recently put in charge of the Trinity River Corridor Project. “The investment we’ve made over the last few decades has paid off.”

But with parts of the city still drying out, up and down the Trinity, city officials agree the system is far from perfect — especially when you consider the fact we’re still missing a three-mile-long levee promised two decades ago. More about that below.

But first, houses in West Dallas — near Singleton Boulevard and Bernal Drive — were nearly underwater at the end of last week because of torrential rainfall. City officials say stormwater drains couldn’t keep up with rains falling at the rate of seven inches per hour at one point. A pump station is proposed for that area — the so-called Trinity Portland Pump Station, to be specific, which was just approved in the federal Dallas Floodway Record of Decision. Per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that pump station and other “improvements will reduce the risk of neighborhood flooding.” When neighborhood flooding occurs, commercial and residential buildings may be in need of Dallas foundation repair.

Says Dhruv Pandya, the man who tasked with keeping an eye on Dallas’ flood waters, “a pump station there would be very helpful.” He said the same thing in Arlington just yesterday.

But officials with the city’s Trinity Watershed Management say there’s no money to build it.

“It’s 35-percent designed,” says interim director Sarah Standifer. “We’re now awaiting funding.” That would come from a combination of city and federal funds.

The city also has no money to build the long-awaited Lamar Levee, proposed as part of the Dallas Floodway Extension Project that emerged from the 1989 and 1990 floods — when the river crested, respectively, at 43.3 feet and 47.1 feet. The highest it got in May was 42.01 feet, just one week ago — when, as we reported at the time, businesses were forced to close as the rising river filled parking lots and knocked on front doors. Poor drainage and severe drought can increase the needs for Dallas foundation repair.

According to the city, the Lamar Levee would be “three miles of protective levee … located along the Union Pacific Railroad that is parallel to Lamar Street. This Lamar Levee will provide the Lamar area with 800-year flood protection, while extending the Dallas Floodway East Levee from the DART Bridge to the Rochester Park Levee.”

If and when it’s built. Because, again, there’s no money.

The pump station and the levee are “on the drawing board, and we’re going to continue to push for funding,” says McDaniel. “They’re very much on the radar.”

The Corps will actually brief the council on Monday about plans to cost-share two projects: repairing the channel near Interstate 45 and in the Lower Chain of Wetlands and building maintenance roads-trails in the Dallas Floodway Extension. The total cost for this is expected to be $14 million. The city would be required to pay $6 million, and only $1 million of that has been identified. It could also cost much more than that, according to city documents, depending on what the city and Corps finds under the floodwaters when they finally recede. Additional expenses may occur if Dallas foundation repair is necessary after discovery displays damaged foundations.

And none of this addresses the fact there are still big pieces of Northwest Dallas underwater along the Elm Fork of the Trinity, thanks to Corps’ lake releases upstream that continue a week after it stopped raining. Roads are still closed; so too business, including the Elm Fork shooting range and the city-owned Luna Vista Golf Course.

“We were speaking with the Corps a few minutes ago trying to find out what their action plan is and how much they’re going to release for how long,” says Pandya, the Trinity Watershed Management’s assistant director. “For seven to 10 days we’ll have continued released, then controlled release, which will bring the water lower than what it is. That will last for a long time. But if we get more rain it might change.”

Rain is in the forecast for next week, speaking of things on the radar.

Says Pandya, “I hope it goes somewhere else.”

TEXAS FLOODS: ENOUGH RAIN FELL IN MAY TO COVER ENTIRE STATE 8 INCHES DEEP

Original Story: cnn.com

So much rain has fallen this May on flood-ravaged Texas that it could cover the entire state with 8 inches of water, meteorologists say.

Every drop of rain these days is a drop too many in much of Texas, where 22 people have died and President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster.

Over the weekend, a University of Houston student saw an object in Brays Bayou and reported it to campus police, who contacted Houston authorities, according to Houston Police Department Sgt. J.T. Parker. Police found a male body, and a preliminary investigation suggests the death is related to flooding, said Parker.

Elsewhere near Houston, police evacuated residents from 20 homes in the suburb of Rosenberg on Saturday. Residents in at least 14 homes more were deciding whether to leave as the Brazos River threatened to rise, Lt. William Henry said. To determine if the widespread flooding has caused significant damage to the foundation of your home, contact a Texas Foundation Company for a free evaluation.

Several rivers in Texas were at flood stage at 108 locations, the National Weather Service said Saturday, but on Sunday the rain seemed to have let up in the area, according to the service.

CNN affiliate KPRC reported that some 600 cattle were trapped by high waters in the Trinity River. Cowboys came to their aid, steering the larger cattle to a rail yard, and loading calves onto air boats, KPRC said.

Torrential rains have already given Texas the wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. And extreme river and creek flooding has broken many records and swept away hundreds of homes.

In all, 37.3 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the state of Texas in May, the National Weather Service said.

While a period of dry weather was expected Sunday in Texas, showers and thunderstorms hit some areas in the Northeast and Southeast on Sunday. Elsewhere, heavy rain soaked Atlanta Sunday afternoon, flooding some metro areas of the city. Once the floods cease and damages are accounted for, it is crucial to contact a Dallas Foundation Repair company to inspect the foundation of your home to determine if additional damage has occurred.

Oklahoma wears hip boots, too

Oklahoma has also broken its monthly rain record, according to reports. Seven people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of drenching rain there. Flooding also killed people in northern Mexico, bringing the total death toll to at least 43.

Some of the victims died in tornadoes.

And highway patrol troopers shot one man dead on Friday, after receiving a call about a stranded motorist related to high water, authorities said. The two troopers found two men with two vehicles, said Capt. Paul Timmons of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The troopers told the men to come toward them to safer ground out of the high water, Timmons said. But at some point, an altercation broke out, and the troopers fired, killing one of the men.

Late Friday, Obama declared "a major disaster exists in the State of Texas." He ordered federal aid into the state.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in 70 counties, which allows state resources to be used for storm response.

Barely escaped

The flooding wiped out many homes in San Marcos, which lies between Austin and San Antonio.

Resident Debra Diaz said she is recovering after the floods destroyed everything she owned. "I'm just thankful that I have the boys and my family and friends," Diaz said. With the increased rains, water damage may leave your home in need of Houston Foundation Repair.

She was asleep when a friend banged on her door to warn her of the flood. "If it weren't for her, we would have been stuck in there," Diaz said. "Water just coming toward us, gushing. I'm talking about water coming to my waist. It was high."

The family's car was full of water, so they had to get out on foot. She said the family managed to flag down a school bus, which took them to safety -- but just barely.

"The water was already past the tires of the school bus," she said. "That's how high it was."