Floodwaters began moving into the northwest Harris County subdivision Thursday and were threatening other subdivisions nearby as water levels continued to rise in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, which are already at record levels following massive rains that pummeled the watershed earlier in the week.
"This morning when I left for work, the water wasn't this bad," the 23-year-old said Thursday afternoon, as motorists hesitated, then pushed through the deepening puddles on Birch Vale Drive. "This is crazy. This water smells, and it's really gross."
Neighborhood flooding near the reservoirs is the price to pay for preventing damaging floodwaters downstream in Houston, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the basins.
The floodgates were opened about 6 p.m. Thursday on the Addicks and Barker dams, but the water releases won't be enough to stop new flooding in the communities in western Harris and eastern Fort Bend counties near the basin.
Letting out too much water into Buffalo Bayou would threaten homes and businesses in Houston, officials said.
The reservoirs were built in the 1930s and 1940s to protect Houston development, and the mission hasn't changed in the ensuing decades, said Richard Long, a project operations team member with the Army Corps.
"That is still the purpose of the reservoirs," he said. "That purpose has not changed."
The rising waters in the reservoirs were expected to send at least a foot of water into the nearby communities, spilling over into cul-de-sacs, driveways and, in some cases, living rooms.
"This rise is going to be forcing some areas west and northwest of reservoirs to start seeing some water rise," Long said earlier Thursday.
The two reservoirs are located along Interstate 10 near the upper watershed of Buffalo Bayou. Texas 6 runs through the Addicks Reservoir and adjacent to the Barker basin, and was already underwater north of Interstate 10.
And Bear Creek Village already had spot visits from floodwaters earlier this week.
The whirlwird high the Griffith family experienced last weekend - with a wedding, baby shower and birthday celebration - came to a soggy end by Monday morning when they awoke to 7 inches of water in their Bear Creek Village home.
By Thursday, alerts of more flooding sent 32-year-old Kenneth Griffith - with his 8½-month pregnant wife and their 6-year-old son - lugging a black suitcase on his shoulder through shin-high waters on their street. They were headed down Clay Road to dry land and possibly a hotel for shelter.
"We stayed as long as we could," said his wife, Malissa Sheibley, 31. "We just had our baby shower and we had everything in the house from Saturday night on the floor. Everything's ruined. We pretty much lost everything."
The suitcase held some clothes and a few other dry belongings. Their little boy's sneakers were protected by doubled-up plastic bags tied tightly around his ankles.
The family moved to the Houston area from Pennsylvania in November and settled in Bear Creek Village in January.
"We've been trying to stay, hoping the water would go down to get out, but it's just rising and rising. And it's at the point where everything is starting to mold and mildew and smell," Sheibley said. "We lost everything from the baby shower. … I'm due in four weeks, and we don't have anything."
Other homes throughout the area had already piled tangled mounds of drenched carpet on curbs before the latest round of flooding moved in, and an inordinate number of home repair vehicles were traveling through the neighborhoods.
The dam opening will cause a noticeable rise in Buffalo Bayou but isn't expected to cause damage.
"We will manage that water in a fashion that will limit any negative impacts to the communities along Buffalo Bayou," Long said. "We will not open the dam to a point where it will cause flooding downstream."
Long said holding the water back from Houston prevented an estimated $3 billion in damage this week downstream.
The dams remained in good condition and were operating as intended, he added.
Damage and street flooding was already building in far west Harris and eastern Fort Bend counties.
By Thursday afternoon, at least four major thoroughfares were already under water.
Major street flooding caused by overflow from Addicks Reservoir included Eldridge between Clay and Dairy Ashford; Texas 6 between Clay and Park Row; and Clay Road between Texas 6 and Brittmoore. Major street flooding caused by Barker Reservoir overflow included Westheimer Parkway between FM 1093 and Fry Road.
Still, some families were hoping to stay in their homes.
Hanna Mattern and Ryan Hamlin intended to stay put on Thursday night with their 5-year-old son in their Bear Creek Village home, despite the rising water.
"They're about to let the dams go tonight, and they are OK just warning us that they are about to flood our … whole neighborhood," said Mattern, 23. ""It's just all sitting here and it's not going anywhere. And it's gotten worse from this morning, and it hasn't even rained that much."
Hamlin, 25, also voiced concern.
"They're saying they're going to release more water, so of course everybody's worried about it."
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