Heavy rain exacerbates flooding problems

By John Tompkins
The Facts

Published July 7, 2007

FREEPORT — It has rained every day for a week in Brazoria County, and the deluges are causing problems including restrictions on barge shipments on the San Bernard River

The Angleton area received about 6 to 7 inches of rain from Sunday to Thursday, said Joe Jurecka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The area received an additional half-inch to 2 inches Friday, said Paul Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The flooding in the Brazos River has crested and remained at about 48 feet late Friday, 5 feet above flood stage, Jurecka said. That will go down by a foot today, but with added rain north of Brazoria County, it will go up again to about 49 feet by the middle of next week, he said.

“It’s getting close to where the Brazos River might spill over into Oyster Creek,” Jurecka said.

If that happens, as it did 15 years ago, it could result in flooded homes in the area, said Kenneth “Doc” Adams, Brazoria County’s emergency management coordinator.

“I don’t think that will happen, but it could happen if we keep getting rain,” he said. “As long as the rivers are up, if we get more rain, we’ll have some problems.”

As of late Friday, there had been no reports of flooded homes or streets in the Rosharon area where the flooding has been heaviest, Adams said.

“Everybody needs to keep their eyes on the water,” he said. “They need to stay away from the waterways until we return to some normalcy.”

The heavy rains also are driving up the levels of the San Bernard River, which is projected to crest around 18 feet Saturday afternoon near Sweeny, about 2 feet above flood stage, said Debbie Helvey, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

It also is projected to rise to 29 feet, a foot below flood stage, in the West Columbia area and remain there for the next several days, Helvey said.

The flooding in the San Bernard has affected barge traffic near the ConocoPhillips refinery in Old Ocean.

“We can’t run any barges at this time,” said Bruce Rozek, human resources manager at the Sweeny complex. “But we haven’t seen any interruptions in our operations.”

Barges are used to run gas oil and fuel oil for the plant’s operations, Rozek said.

There is a 20 percent chance of rain throughout the day today in the Angleton area, and there will be a 20 percent chance of rain every day until Wednesday, Lewis said.

John Tompkins covers Brazoria County for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.