Harris County Flood Control and bayou updates

The rain may have stopped over your street. Upstream is still dumping into Brays, White Oak, Greens, or Buffalo. Reservoirs on the west side can release after the storm has a name in the past tense.

Harris County Flood Control District does not come pump your living room. They run the channels, the gauges, and the public map.

If you want to know whether to sleep at home tonight, read the gauge nearest your crossing, not a helicopter shot of downtown.

Do this now

1. Open the Harris County Flood Warning System and find the gauge on your bayou or tributary.
2. Note the current level, flood stage, and whether the trend is up or down.
3. Check Harris County OEM / ReadyHarris for releases, road closures, and stay-out orders.
4. Do not drive a bayou crossing because the radar looks green.

How to read a gauge without becoming an engineer

Find your bayou name first. Then the closest station upstream of your street. ‘Below flood stage’ at a downtown point can still mean a neighborhood lateral is in the houses.

Look at the time stamp. A gauge that has not reported in hours is not comfort. Look at the 24-hour plot. A falling line after a huge spike still leaves water in streets.

If Addicks or Barker operations are in the news, people downstream of those releases need the official Corps and county notices, not a neighbor’s theory.

What Flood Control will and will not do

They will not sandbag your slab. They will not argue with your insurer. They publish maps, project pages, and the warning system.

Report a collapsed bank or a blocked regional channel through the district’s own channels or 311 / county, depending on where you are. Take a photo with a street sign.

If your issue is a city inlet on a residential curb, that is Public Works or the precinct, not the bayou authority.

Do this next

1. 911 vs non-emergency vs 311 after a Houston flood
2. Coast Guard / swift-water rescue: when to dial
3. Shelters & evacuation hub

More in Who to call right now.