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SJRA shutting down lake to boaters, says lake and rivers should not flood
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| Moore Furniture Store employee Anthony Mooris drills screws to secure wood boards to the windows of the Conroe store. Residents are preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Ike. |
By Brad Meyer
LAKE CONROE – Beginning at noon today, all marine traffic on Lake Conroe will be prohibited for an indefinite period, San Jacinto River Authority officials announced Thursday.
Emergency vessels will be the lone exception to that edict, said Jace Houston, SJRA’s deputy general manager.
“We want to ensure the safety of our residents around the lake,” he said.
Blake Kellum, SJRA division manager, said emergency crews will be on standby once the storm has passed.
“But we are not going to risk the lives of our emergency response personnel to help those who don’t practice common sense,” he said.
Kellum urged lakeside boat owners to secure their vessels and other property in advance of Hurricane Ike.
“One of our biggest concerns for local residents is wind,” Kellum said. “High waves can wash boats off their moorings and slings. We had hundreds of boats to recover after Rita.”
Houston said favorable conditions will help the SJRA deal with the weather conditions forecast for Lake Conroe.
The current water level of Lake Conroe is 200 feet – a full foot below normal – which will accommodate 21,000-acre feet of runoff, Kellum said.
“That’s more than enough room to handle the 4-6 inches of rain currently being forecast,” he said. “Soil conditions are very dry, which will also help reduce the amount of local runoff.”
Based on current projections, Kellum does not anticipate any unscheduled release of water that would be necessary if the lake was at capacity.
“SJRA does not plan any water release until well after the storm when area streams and waterways have had an opportunity to channel the bulk of the runoff downstream,” Kellum said.
The Lake Conroe dam is in good shape following repairs made after Hurricane Rita in 2005, Kellum said. SJRA staff continues to go through its emergency checklists in anticipation of the storm.
While isolated flooding in lowlying areas is possible, county officials have no plans to close roads in advance of the storm, Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler said.
“Lakes, rivers and streams are at relatively low levels and should be able to absorb the amount of rain currently forecast,” he said. “Each precinct commissioner will monitor the situation and determine if conditions warrant closing in response to the storm.”
Emergency vessels will be the lone exception to that edict, said Jace Houston, SJRA’s deputy general manager.
“We want to ensure the safety of our residents around the lake,” he said.
Blake Kellum, SJRA division manager, said emergency crews will be on standby once the storm has passed.
“But we are not going to risk the lives of our emergency response personnel to help those who don’t practice common sense,” he said.
Kellum urged lakeside boat owners to secure their vessels and other property in advance of Hurricane Ike.
“One of our biggest concerns for local residents is wind,” Kellum said. “High waves can wash boats off their moorings and slings. We had hundreds of boats to recover after Rita.”
Houston said favorable conditions will help the SJRA deal with the weather conditions forecast for Lake Conroe.
The current water level of Lake Conroe is 200 feet – a full foot below normal – which will accommodate 21,000-acre feet of runoff, Kellum said.
“That’s more than enough room to handle the 4-6 inches of rain currently being forecast,” he said. “Soil conditions are very dry, which will also help reduce the amount of local runoff.”
Based on current projections, Kellum does not anticipate any unscheduled release of water that would be necessary if the lake was at capacity.
“SJRA does not plan any water release until well after the storm when area streams and waterways have had an opportunity to channel the bulk of the runoff downstream,” Kellum said.
The Lake Conroe dam is in good shape following repairs made after Hurricane Rita in 2005, Kellum said. SJRA staff continues to go through its emergency checklists in anticipation of the storm.
While isolated flooding in lowlying areas is possible, county officials have no plans to close roads in advance of the storm, Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler said.
“Lakes, rivers and streams are at relatively low levels and should be able to absorb the amount of rain currently forecast,” he said. “Each precinct commissioner will monitor the situation and determine if conditions warrant closing in response to the storm.”
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Reader Comments
Whiskyecho wrote on Sep 12, 2008 1:03 PM:
" mrsdogooder says: "If it were up to me, I would of started a slow release 2 days ago"
So, tell us, to what level would you drop the Lake ?
To what levels would you have dropped the Lake for the this year's other Gulf Storms/Hurricanes ?
Have you ever been to the SJRA facility at the Dam ? - time permitting they'll give you some good information and possibly a tour of the Dam ? If you've not been there then your point about "what they should do" is moot.
(do you not think the Dam folks have emergency contingency plans that they must follow ?)
Folks south of the Dam shouldn't have located there in the 1st place. "
So, tell us, to what level would you drop the Lake ?
To what levels would you have dropped the Lake for the this year's other Gulf Storms/Hurricanes ?
Have you ever been to the SJRA facility at the Dam ? - time permitting they'll give you some good information and possibly a tour of the Dam ? If you've not been there then your point about "what they should do" is moot.
(do you not think the Dam folks have emergency contingency plans that they must follow ?)
Folks south of the Dam shouldn't have located there in the 1st place. "
mrs. do gooder wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:55 AM:
In 1994 a tropical storm came and released lots, and lots, and lots of rain. There was so much water that Montgomery, Harris, and surrounding counties reported such wide spread flooding that it broke records and succeeded the ‘100 year flood zone’. Because of this, officials re-drew the flood zone maps to include homes, businesses, hospitals and areas which should never of seen water.
To make matters worse, during this storm in 1994, SJRA waited to release water when they determined homes on Lake Conroe were in jeopardy of flooding. To rescue these homes, they release water in large amounts as it came. Because of this, thousands of acres and thousands of homes in Conroe, Spring, Atascotica, and other areas flooded instead. Areas along Spring Creek, San Jacinto River, and other waterways receiving water from Lake Conroe flooded these areas instead.
SJRA was harshly criticized for waiting to release water. SJRA was accused of wanting to save the expensive homes on Lake Conroe, saying they did not care about the poor folks down stream! I don’t want to see this happen again. If it were up to me, I would of started a slow release 2 days ago. Not repeating the mistakes with a ‘wait and see’ approach hoping rains won’t be so bad. "