North Houston hit by severe storms, residents blame San Jacinto River Authority for flooding
HOUSTON - Severe thunderstorms across north Houston left some homeowners with houses underwater. The San Jacinto River Authority continued to release water from the Lake Conroe Dam to lower the water in the lake. The release of water caused homeowners on the West Bank of the San Jacinto River to evacuate.
Now, homeowners are expressing their frustrations with the San Jacinto River authority for not planning ahead of the severe weather and releasing water from the Lake Conroe dam way earlier.
SUGGESTED: Harris County under disaster declaration, mandatory evacuation for East Fork of San Jacinto River
"This is my second flood in three months and I have 6 feet of water in my house," said Nivanh Justis, a homeowner in the Conroe area.
Torrential downpours pounded the Conroe area and triggered severe flooding. The flooding left houses along the San Jacinto River submerged in water.
"In a rain like this, it shouldn’t have happened," said Mark Parker, a resident in the McDade Estates subdivision.
"We can’t get to our home at all. our house is six feet under and McDade Park is probably about 10 feet," said Justis.
Nivanh Justis is a homeowner along the west bank of the San Jacinto River. She said she left work as she watched her house flood for the second time from her home security camera. The last time her house flooded was in January during the last storm that brought heavy rainfall.
"I work for Memorial Hermann, I’m in healthcare. I shouldn’t have to worry about my patients, and then have to worry about my house and the wellbeing of my family," said Justis.
Throughout the day, the San Jacinto River Authority continued to release water from the Lake Conroe Dam. The water released flooded homes along the west bank of the river. Many homeowners said the flooding could have been prevented by releasing the water earlier in the week.
"Even if it’s little, even if it’s like 5,000 cubic feet, why not bring the lake down during this time, four feet so people don’t get flooded?" said Justis.
Justis said she even emailed the San Jacinto River Authority on Sunday asking them to pre-release the water from Lake Conroe to avoid another home flood.
"I got an email on Tuesday saying that they don’t do that because they don’t know if they are going to get enough rain, so they would have to take water from somewhere else," said Justis.
"The San Jacinto River Authority has a lot of power… it takes more than a resident or two lodging a complaint. It’s a pretty big entity. I’m thinking an act of congress," said Parker.
The Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says they are making sure they have the resources available in case people make calls for help.