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EAGLE LAKE — Long hours under grueling conditions by city crews helped minimize a public-safety emergency during last week’s torrential downpour, which also spawned a tornado.
That’s the assessment of City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson, who recently issued a statement on the city’s Facebook page regarding the floodwaters that struck the city on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
“As you are all well aware, we had some severe weather … including a confirmed tornado at approximately 12:20 p.m.,” Jackson said. “The storm included over 6 inches of rain, most of which came within about 1.5 hours. That amount of rain in such a short time period led to issues with our wastewater system.”
While Jackson didn’t minimize the damage from the storm, noting there were no reported injuries, he indicated things could have been much worse if it hadn’t been for the efforts of city workers.
“While we were all inside in the safety of our homes and businesses, they were out in the middle of the storm, soaked, working for you. Because of their efforts, by approximately 3 p.m., the systems had caught up and things were back to normal,” Jackson said. “That didn’t end their day though, as they were all out well into the night making repairs to facilities damaged during the tornado. We all owe them a big thank you today!”
At issue was an overload of the city’s stormwater and wastewater systems by the deluge. The surge had to be controlled or more damage would have occurred.
“Your Public Works Department did an excellent job … of keeping the stormwater flowing to help speed that process along,” Jackson said.
The city manager said the stormwater and wastewater systems can handle up to 3 inches of water per hour within an hour or two.
Jackson said this is the reality for 90% of cities across Texas.
“When we or any other city gets over 3 inches of rain in an hour, our storm system becomes full charged (full of water), and it has no room for additional water,” Jackson said. “At that point, the water starts to accumulate in low-lying areas and begins to infiltrate our wastewater system through the manholes. Once that occurs, it does not take long for our wastewater system to become fully charged as well.”
Jackson added the system had to be given time to catch up. Observers started to see water receding from 3-4 p.m.
Meanwhile, residents have shared photos and videos of tree debris in their yards.
GFL, the city’s solidwaste contractor, will begin picking up debris bundles this week, the city manager said.
“If you had any trees or large branches that were downed as a result of (the) storm, they will be picking those up,” he said. “You will need to place them on the curb, as organized as you possibly can, in maximum 6-foot lengths. The pickup of those items will start next Thursday (Feb. 2).”
Reports also came in of wind damage that possibly toppled a fireworks stand near Brookshire Brothers; on the opposite end of the street, a tree had also fallen over.
“First and foremost, we were blessed to make it through the storm with no injuries reported,” Jackson said. “Buildings and possession can be replaced; loss of life cannot. We were not hit near as hard by this storm as Pasadena or Deer Park. We have an awful lot to be thankful for today, and we need to keep those folks in our prayers.”
Gov. Greg Abbott is urging all Texans hit hard by recent severe storms and winter weather to report affected property by using the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s iSTAT damage survey.
Visit the Citizen’s website to learn more: https:// www. coloradocountycitizen. com/art icle/ news/ governor- abbott- urgestexans- impacted- stormsreport- damage.
