Area cities deal with flooding aftermath

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

In Central Texas, where the Llano and Pedernales Rivers flow into the Colorado River and where many cities are built near or around the rivers, heavy rains often result in floods.

The recent floods caused the Llano River to overflow its banks, causing the bridge that connects FM 2900 with Kingsland to collapse.

The heavy rains and overflowing waters have caused damage to Burnet County communities located on the Colorado River. Some are starting to recover.

Gone are the memories of the summer wildfires that plagued Burnet County and surrounding counties and made people wish for rain.

Marble Falls

The storm and overflowing water resulted in a compromise of Marble Falls' potable water, to where a boil advisory was in effect, as of Wednesday, Oct. 17.

Marble Falls is under Stage 5 Water Restriction, as the recent flooding has caused damage to the City of Marble Falls water plant resulting in the implementation of Stage 5 Emergency Water Shortage Conditions of the City's Drought Contingency Plan. Effective immediately, citizens must discontinue all nonessential water use.

Officials with the Marble Falls Police Department Communications Division issued a statement that “...water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for 2 minutes. In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking or human consumption purposes.”

Officials said they would issue a notice when Marble Falls' water is again safe to drink.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 16, the following streets are closed: Avenues S and N, Johnson Street, Avenue J at Johnson Park, 2nd Street, 3rd Street.

Officials re-opened Avenue S as of Oct. 17 bu warned it could be closed again. They also allowed traffic in and out of Pecan Valley and Meadowlakes.

Granite Shoals

As of Oct. 16, Granite Shoals officials told North and South Shorewood residents to move to higher ground.

“There is water over the road (Shorewood) in some places,” Granite Shoals officials said on a statement on their website. “Avoid and or leave Impala and Web Isle. The Causeway is flooded.”

As of Oct. 17, residents could return to their homes, as things have improved, water isn't in anyone's houses anymore and they're no longer flooded.

To assist residents with cleanup, the city has placed roll-off dumpsters at city hall. Residents can drop off damaged further and other items damaged by the flood.

Granite Shoals officials advise residents to follow the city on Facebook for updates.

Horseshoe Bay

The weather caused Horseshoe Bay's water intakes to become flooded, and for a while on Oct. 16, the city was not producing any potable water.

However, they did have potable water on hand. That day, the city asked residents “...to reduce water consumption to only essential use as supplies are limited to available storage.

As of Oct. 17, the water intakes were functional with limited pump capacity but expected to be fully functional by today, Oct. 18.

The city also said residents could return to water usage but remain conservative with it. At the time, all water was safe to drink.

Horseshoe Bay officials added: “Grinder systems submerged in flood waters may not function properly. If residents encounter drainage issues, malfunction or if the grinder red light is on, please contact the city. Field operations is currently working to restore or repair damaged systems.”

Kingsland

A small town mostly bordered by the Llano River and Lake LBJ (which flow into the Colorado River), Kingsland currently has no water, as the pumping stations have been knocked out.

Darlene Zubkus of the Kingsland and Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce said people driven out of their homes by the storm have been staying in shelters at the Kingsland Community Shelter and at the local First Baptist Church.

All of Kingsland's restraurants have been closed due to no water sitaution.

“We're taking donations for bottled water,” Zubkus said. “Water has to be poured into the toilets for them to flush.”

Zubkus added that their phone service has been “up and down” and said most are without it.

On Oct. 16, flood waters from where the Llano River flows into Lake LBJ and then flows into the Colorado River resulted in the destruction of the FM 2900 traffic bridge. Zubkus said there's no timeframe for repairing the bridge.

“We're working with the State of Texas on that but haven't heard anything further yet,” she said.

Meadowlakes

As of Oct. 17, Meadowlakes city secretary Evan Bauer said all of the water restrictions have been lifted.

“People can use water as normal and can drink it, and there's no boil notice, she said.

Bauer said the residents who sustained water damaged lived on the lake, and no others had damage. People are cleaning up and assessing.