Heavy rains overflow creeks, streams in Central Texas

Heavy rain causes storm waters

Heavy rains across Central Texas caused overflows in creeks and streams as well as closed low water crossings.

AUSTIN, Texas - Creeks and streams quickly overflowed with storm water on Monday morning following the widespread heavy rain seen in Central Texas.

The Waller Creek tunnel was built to prevent flooding in downtown Austin, and it diverted a lot of storm water on Monday. At one point, 390 cubic feet per second went down the tunnel system, which is equal to almost 3,000 gallons of water per second.

The rain also caused some limited flooding, like in a neighborhood on the north side of Cedar Park where yards and ditches filled with water.

It’s a familiar scene there, but the amount of water that pooled up this time had residents like Amanda Traugott worried about the rainy forecast.

"I think that the city needs to up their maintenance on the area. Definitely, because this is the worst I've seen it in 40 years," said Traugott.

The steady rain made for a slower morning commute and contributed to several wrecks, according to Travis Co ESD 2 Chief Nick Perkins.

"We did see a, you know, a really serious, um, major vehicle accident out on 973 here this morning and then another one on I-35," said Chief Perkins.

The rain flooded several low water crossings. Less than 80 remained closed by 4 p.m. Monday. Many of the crossings had more than a foot of rushing water, which is more than enough to sweep a car off the road. However, the danger didn't stop the driver of an SUV who splashed through a crossing along Spicewood Springs Road.

"I think the hardest thing to communicate is that flooding is very real," said Chief Perkins.

The recent drought, according to Chief Perkins, may have some believing the ground will soak up a big rain event.

"There is a phenomenon that happens with the drought where it almost kind of primes the soil in the land to not handle flooding really well. And so it really only kind of makes it worse quite honestly, when we're seeing heavy rainfall in very short sporadic periods during a drought. So just because we're in a drought, doesn't minimize that chance. And in some cases, it can actually make it worse," said Chief Perkins.

Several local parks also got hit by some high water. At Zilker Park, parts of the Great Lawn became a great pond. In San Marcos, portions of the Purgatory Creek and Spring Lake Natural areas were closed. At the new Lakeline park along US 183, a few picnic areas and trails were swamped, but not enough to keep those with rain gear away, like Toni Davis.

"Really soggy walk. You have to. You have to be prepared," said Davis.

With more rain in the forecast, being prepared is good advice to remember. If you have a flooding problem in Austin this week, officials are reminding residents to report it by calling 311.