Residents Relieved As Brazos River Crests In Parker County

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PARKER COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Rivers in Parker County are over their banks and homeowners are bracing for the worst as more rain moves into North Texas.

After asking residents to voluntarily evacuate Wednesday evening, Parker County Emergency Management officials said the Brazos River had crested, but that they are still monitoring the situation. In Horseshoe Bend the river stood at 22.8 feet – flood stage is 21 feet – and is going down.

Members of the Parker County Sheriff's Department put up barricades to keep everyone but residents out. With rain chances increasing toward the evening and continuing over the next few days, the threat of a possible "record flood event" lingers.

Phil Alg is taking some last minute precautions by putting out sandbags provided by Parker County officials. The Horseshoe Bend resident said, "I'm going to set up a little barrier to keep the water away. But I don't know how much higher it's going to get."

Alg's house is on stilts, but the garage isn't. "My garage sits lower than my house. My house… I've got no problem with."

A lot of residents in Horseshoe Bend, Mountain River, Soda Springs, Brock and Lazy Bend, think the Brazos may have hit its highpoint and will soon return to being the river they love.

Water had started to creep into yards within an hour of taking a tour through Horseshoe Bend. Residents are doing what they can – moving vehicles, lawnmowers, and even RVs to higher ground.

Tom Garvey says flooding is all part of life on the river and is looking ahead. "I've got a lot of cleaning up to do as soon as it goes back down," the longtime resident said before recalling a past flood. "It was actually worse in '07. It was actually seven-feet deep in my yard. Now it's only about three-and-a-half."

On Thursday, the Brazos was actually over its banks all through Parker County. The river crest was put at 24.1 feet. Smaller communities, like Soda Springs, were thought to be at the most risk for flooding, but it turns out only one home was threatened and it survived.

Authorities, like Parker County Fire Marshal Kurt Harris, say overall things have turned out pretty well this week. "Remarkably well considering what initially we were told we might expect. It was very fortunate."

Hood County reported only a few homes with Brazos River water at their doorsteps. Floodgates were turned off upstream at the dam on Possum Kingdom Lake, and that helped. But more storms are on the horizon.

Future flood chances will depend on where the next batch of rain falls and if the floodgates have to be reopened at the Possum Kingdom Lake dam.

This has been the wettest month on record for the state of Texas.

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