Fort Bend Co. officials watching river levels after heavy rain

HOUSTON – While Fort Bend County officials are optimistic there will be no more major impacts from the recent storms, the Office of Emergency Management remains at a level of increased readiness.

County officials said while the Brazos River levels will remain elevated into next week, they do not expect a further rise or significant impact to the surrounding neighborhoods.

However, emergency management officials are closely monitoring the San Bernard River in the southern portion of the county. Assistant County Engineer Jeff Janacek said the San Bernard is expected to continue rising.

"Specifically in Boling, what we saw was about a 5-foot rise through the day yesterday. We're currently at 30.72 feet. The current forecast shows an additional 8-foot rise in the next 24 hours,” said Janacek.  “The river is rising about 1-foot every two hours. Specifically down in that area, we have a community called Tierra Grande and we're communicating with the residents down there and the lower end of the county near Needville; making sure they are aware of the conditions to come."

County Engineer Mark Vogler said a few thousand people could be impacted by the rise in the San Bernard. However, at this time the county is not calling for evacuations.

The county also announced it will begin storm debris pickup on May 20. County officials said there will be three passes of debris pickup. However, county officials stressed this applies only to those communities affected by the recent rains and floods. The county will not pickup debris in gated communities or on private streets.


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