Recent rains rekindle community's flooding concerns

TEXAS CITY, TX (KTRK) -- Heavy rain fell across the Houston area Tuesday morning, with heavier pockets extending south to the coast.

That included Texas City, which was hit Sunday by heavy rains, enough to cause street flooding, and to put the city's water pump stations to use.

On the city's Facebook page Sunday, there were questions from people marooned on their property by street flooding.

Derek Duckett with the city's Office of Emergency Management says even with the pump stations capable of pumping a million gallons of floodwater a minute from streets, there are limits.

"We may have people in one neighborhood saying water's in my driveway, but if you pump all that it may have consequences for people who live by the water," he said.

That water, in one case, would be Moses Lake, where one massive pump station pumps overflow. It can raise lake water levels quickly.

"That would have a bad effect on the other people," Duckett says.

Fortunately, the pumps weren't needed Tuesday. The remainder of the week may call them into service, as forecasts, at the moment, predict 80 percent chance of rain on several days.

"It's not the rate it's raining," says Duckett, "it's the rate at which it falls."

At one point Sunday, rainfall exceeded 6 inches an hour.

"That was a lot," he said.