Lake Houston Property Owners Should Prepare for Lower Lake Levels (or Not)

Note: I posted this this morning before a surprise storm dumped up to 10 inches of rain on the Lake Houston Area this afternoon. Now the river is expected to flood … despite the pre-release. At 7PM on Tuesday, the floodgates on Lake Houston remain wide open. As the river rises past flood stage, any thoughts of being land locked are now moot.

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin issued a press release this morning warning Lake Houston property owners to prepare for lower lake levels. Houston Public Works and the Coastal Water Authority are monitoring forecasts calling for substantial rainfall over the next several days.

Lower Lake Levels Heading Lower

Lake Houston is currently at  42.11 feet and still receiving water from weekend storms. But that’s a half inch down in the last 12 hours.

Lake Houston has a normal pool elevation of 42.5 feet. All four gates on the existing dam structure are open and will remain open with a goal of lowering the lake to 41.5 feet before the next round of rainfall. Property owners are encouraged to secure property along the shoreline. 

Lake-Lowering Policy

Lake Houston is lowered if the National Weather Service predicts greater than 3 inches of rain within a 48-hour period. To monitor Lake Houston and the forecasted rain, click here. 

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/7/2019

616 Days since Hurricane Harvey