GALVESTON, Texas– At this time, the Addicks Reservoir continues to release water at approximately 7000 cubic feet per second and Barker is holding steady at approximately 6,300 cubic feet per second.
Currently, water is only flowing through the outlet structures of both dams and around the north end of Addicks.
“Addicks and Barker Dams continue to operate as expected,” said Col. Lars Zetterstrom, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District commander. “The water in both reservoirs continues to recede.”
The pool levels at both structures peaked on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, and have been on a downward trend ever since.
“The Harvey flood water contained in the reservoirs will likely take about three months to release from our structures, assuming we get little or no further rainfall over this timeframe,” Zetterstrom said. “The goal is to empty the reservoirs and restore flood water storage capacity in them for use during future rain events.”
Corps models project water levels will recede out of homes upstream of both dams within 7-9 days.
“I want to take a moment thank all of the first responders at the local, state and national levels as well as the many volunteers for everything they have done and will continue to do to protect the people living and working here,” said Zetterstrom. “Thank you for your service and selfless sacrifice.”
“Public safety is our number one concern as we work closely with our partners - the city of Houston, Fort Bend County, Harris County and the Texas Department of Public Safety - to monitor the dams and reservoirs,” said Zetterstrom.
The USACE Galveston District was established in 1880 as the first engineer district in Texas to oversee river and harbor improvements. The district is directly responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of channel, including 270 miles of deep draft and 750 miles of shallow draft as well as the Colorado River Locks and Brazos River Floodgates.
Learn more about the Texas coast at http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/TexasCoastValuetotheNation.aspx. For news and information, visit www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEgalveston.