HOUSTON – Voluntary evacuations are expected to be issued for people living near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in Houston as officials said they plan to release water from them Monday morning.
Col. Lars Zetterstrom of the Army Corps of Engineers said water will likely be released from the Addicks Reservoir beginning at 2 a.m. and from the Barker Reservoir at 11 a.m. The release will cause a rise of 4 to 6 inches per hour in the Buffalo Bayou and will cause more water to flow both upstream and downstream.
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Homes could be impacted by 2 p.m., Zetterstrom said.
"This flood event will exceed the 2016 tax day flood elevations," Zetterstrom said. "Structures will be impacted upstream from both locations; the number of structures affected will depend on weather conditions."
Zetterstrom said the dams are performing as designed after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped record amounts of rainfall on Harris County. He said that the release is needed to reduce the risk of further flooding.
Engineers are working with officials in Houston, Harris County and Fort Bend County to coordinate the locations that will need to be evacuated, Zetterstrom said.
Zetterstrom said that the released water will travel around the dam and over a spillway, affecting the northern end of the Addicks Reservoir and both ends of the Barker Reservoir.
It will take up to three months to empty the reservoirs, according to Zetterstrom.
Check the forecast any time by visiting the weather page of Click2Houston.com or by downloading Frank's forecast app on Apple or Android devices.