HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Nearly all bayous and creeks in Harris County performed well during Tropical Storm Imelda. Only Clear Creek left its banks.
County officials said that's thanks to a little luck and a lot of hard work.
Tropical Storm Imelda pushed Clear Creek at Bay Area Boulevard over its banks and into Countryside Sports Park. But that was the lone exception.
"I think we definitely dodged a bullet," said Harris County Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Lindner. "When you look at what happened in Sargent, they had 21 inches in Matagorda County. If we had anything close to that, we'd have a much different story in Harris County."
Although chunks of Harris County dodged the heaviest of the rain, it still got a lot. But there were several key differences compared to past major flooding events.
"What has been different is we went into this dry and it really helped us," Lindner said. "And the rain was spread out over time. It allowed the water and drainage systems to keep up with the rainfall."
Lindner said improvements to area bayous and creeks played a part in preventing serious flooding.
"It certainly helps in events like this when you're talking about 4, 5, 6, or 7 inches of rain," Lindner said.
County maps show just how many projects are scheduled or underway right now to improve drainage or expand bayous. The work is visible all around town.
Although Lindner said these improvements would still be no match for the catastrophic rainfall Houston experienced during Harvey, they can and do make a difference.
"These are the types of events we target to prevent structures from flooding," Lindner said. "We've successfully seen that with this incident."
The county will closely be watch the east fork of the San Jacinto River at FM 1485. It could reach moderate flood levels by the end of the week.
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