RIVERSIDE, Texas – Living along the Trinity River and Lake Livingston comes with the potential for flooding.
People who rolled the dice are now paying the price as the Trinity River has crested its banks, flooding neighborhoods for the third time in the last year.
In the Green Rich Shores neighborhood just upstream of Lake Livingston, it’s becoming a new norm for residents.
Some people had two feet of water in their garages this week after the water wouldn’t stop rising.
The National Weather Service says this area received upwards of 10-15 inches of rain over the last month.
That’s 200-300% above the average for this time of year, experts say.
However, that’s not the only reason the river is flooding.
“Seven days. If Dallas is getting a lot of water, we know in seven days the rain is going to be down here,” says Lynn Murchison, a Green Rich Shores resident.
It’s become so common for Lynn’s family that her husband, Gilbert, created a raised platform system to help them get out of their home and to the street.
While this flood didn’t cause a lot of damage, the 2024 spring flood left three inches of water in their home.
They, like many of their neighbors, don’t have insurance.
Lynn Murchison: “They want $7,000 per year.”
Gage Goulding: “Is that just too much?”
Lynn Murchison: “Yeah. I’m on Social Security. I can’t pay $7,000 a year.”
Gage Goulding: “To some people, they might say that’s too much. Why are you still doing this?”
Lynn Murchison: “Do you see this view?”
She’s not the only one who feels that way.
Just ten minutes down the road off Doug Bell Road, several feet of water covered the road, leaving two neighborhoods accessible only by boat.
“There was like a couple feet of water,” said Brett Foisie of Drone Bros.
That water vanished in the 24 hours since he was here, flying his drone to capture the flooding.
“The water has definitely gone down a bit, but for these homes over here on the side, it’s still up to their porches and surrounding the whole houses,” Foisie said. “It just seems like it’s happening more and more.”
The Trinity River Authority, which oversees Lake Livingston, says they shouldn’t be blamed. Instead, point the finger at Mother Nature.
“Regarding the rainfall and river flow, there is nothing that the TRA has done or not done in the operation of the gates at the Livingston Dam that would have affected the level of the water in these areas. We sympathize with people who are dealing with the effects of recent heavy rainfall,” a spokesperson wrote to KPRC 2. “As it relates to Lake Livingston and the dam, operations are governed by Gate Operating Procedures (GOP) that depend upon TRA’s use of a flowage easement it acquired around the lake. The GOPs are developed to mimic river conditions at the location of the dam. Gate operations are determined by inflow measurements based on the change in lake elevation at the dam. The Trinity River itself does not fall under the purview of the Trinity River Authority, it is a common misconception; the only body of water that TRA owns and operates is Lake Livingston. There has indeed been a lot of rainfall. Just as others do, TRA monitors information from NOAA and the National Weather Service. TRA works to respond to and engage with residents and welcomes any opportunity to speak with groups and share the details related to Lake Livingston and the dam.”
