Residents, visitors keeping eye on dam in Montgomery Co.

Sunday, May 24, 2015
Dam at risk for breach in Montgomery Co.
The watching and waiting continues for residents worried about a shaky dam near Willis

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- Montgomery County officials say crews did a good job solidifying the Lewis Creek Dam, and there's no imminent danger of the dam failing. But the rain that's headed this way isn't helping their efforts. A voluntary evacuation alert is in effect for several neighborhoods.

"I haven't gotten real good news on it, as far as knowing exactly how bad it is," says Ivory Robinson.

Ivory Robinson lives on Lake Conroe in the Enchanted Waters subdivision. Some of her neighbors have already taken heed to voluntary evacuation alerts that came out Friday.

(Ivory Robinson 0015) "It's a possibility that I may give it another thought or more consideration and I might need to doggone jump in my car and doggone ride up out of dodge."

Entergy Texas crews added soil to the Lewis Creek Dam Friday to strengthen it, and let water out to ease some of the pressure from inside. That work continued Saturday and officials say there's no imminent danger that it'll fail.

"We didn't know anything until we had unloaded everything and they came by and said by the way there's an issue with the dam. It could possibly flood and you'd have to evacuate," says Christian Landry.

Landry, a U.S. Air Force veteran, drove up from Friendswood with fellow veterans and their families for their annual Memorial Day vacation at Bishop's Landing, another area at risk if the dam fails.

"We're kind of just keeping an eye on everything. We have a boat so we're ready to jump in the boat and take off down the lake if we have to."

Bishop's Landing manager Nicole Nauss says she's not overly concerned.

"They haven't given is the code red evacuate. They've given us warnings and go aheads," Nauss tells us. "And we've supplied all our tenants with a place to go in case they do give us an evacuation. Some of our tenants have left. Most have stayed."

County officials say right now all of those evacuations are voluntary, but if the dam situation changes with the 4-7 inches of rain that could fall here over the next two days, those could become mandatory evacuations.