Residents in Brazoria County neighborhood band to patch levee breaches

Flooding from nearby Brazos River yet to come

BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas – Water rises in river and creek levels are likely in areas south and southwest of Houston since Harvey’s arrival.

Residents in the Columbia Lakes neighborhood in Brazoria County, which is southwest of Houston, banded together to patch nearby levee breaches. On Tuesday, they built a makeshift dam.

“It was overflowing. Just a little bit had come over, but it was enough to overwhelm the pumps. So that's the main concern, is to keep the pumps going,” Danny Hill, a Columbia Lakes resident, said.

The breach is from a small creek. The worst of the flooding from the nearby Brazos River is yet to come.

“They’re predicting the Brazos to go a lot higher, so if that does (happen) and it tops over, then there's really not much we can do about that. But if there's anything we can do until then, then it makes sense to do it,” Hill said.

Last year, the area saw the Brazos River rise to extraordinary levels. This time, it’s forecast to be worse.

“Last year was the ‘flood of the century,’ and a lot of people thought, ‘Well, I’ll just drop my flood insurance then because we were high and dry here in Columbia Lakes,'” Hill said.

For Hill, this is just part of a string of bad luck. His house recently burned to the ground, and he still remains positive.

“We just got finished rebuilding it, and that was thanks to all my neighbors out here. They came out, pulled together, helped us to build our house. It's an awesome community. We stick together, and we'll be here long after this,” Hill said. 

DOWNLOAD THE KSAT HURRICANE APP FOR APPLE iPHONE USERS HERE AND ANDROID USERS HERE.

Check out the latest satellite image and find out where Harvey is headed:

Download the KSAT Weather app for iPhone and Android 

Continued Weather Coverage

Stick with KSAT 12 News, your Weather Authority for the latest weather updates.

Remember, 'Turn Around, Don't Drown': Tips for staying safe while driving in the rain

Read more: CPS Energy offers power outage tips

-------------------------------------------------------

Download the KSAT 12 Weather app on your smartphone for the latest weather updates.

Click to download on iPhone OR click to download on an Android phone.

Keep up with the latest alerts from the KSAT Meteorologists with their Twitter stream below:


About the Author:

Justin Horne is a meteorologist and reporter for KSAT 12 News. When severe weather rolls through, Justin will hop in the KSAT 12 Storm Chaser to safely bring you the latest weather conditions from across South Texas. On top of delivering an accurate forecast, Justin often reports on one of his favorite topics: Texas history.