River flooding and lake levels

[00:00:00]The water moving down from the Texas Hill Country is now putting infrastructure changes to the test in McMullen County.

[00:00:08]>> Emergency management officials say they are already seeing a difference compared to a historic flooding event that was back in 2002.

[00:00:17]A >> lot of the difference is is that um like Valero and the uh the gas stations over there community center hasn't been inundated with water yet. And usually that was really starting to show signs where that valo was was just a really low point there. And that's where a lot of water collected. And obviously now since it is a lot higher than it was back then, you are seeing the water kind of directed back towards the actual two creeks that are right there. We are continuing to monitor it and it did come up a lot faster overnight compared to yesterday where it was for like a slow trickle into a sink versus now we have the full stream.

[00:00:51]And we're also learning that that rising water in the Freo means for ranchers, well, it means that they have to take some precautions is they live along the banks.

[00:01:03]>> All this water, it's helping a lot with the lake filling up. The only downfall to it is that there's no like we got to move a bunch of stuff. Cattle are we got to move cattle off the river. Like there's a bunch of cattle in the river across the road over here we had to move out. And then fences, all the fences that it takes out come through the creeks that we got to fix. This is not a new thing for McMullen County. We've had floods uh multiple floods over the years. Uh Freo likes to run over and uh as we all know that uh when you've been through it once or twice, you kind of know what to expect. And we're hoping that this is going to be very similar to to our past experiences where >> so different input from different residents as you just heard there. Okay.

[00:01:46]So all of that water making its way toward Choke Canyon. Yeah, the Freo River flows into the reservoir and you just have to wonder how far that water is going to advance once the Hill Country rainwater finally gets there.

[00:02:01]>> Chief meteorologist Carly Smith joins us now with a closer look. Carly?

[00:02:05]>> Yeah, Leslie and Mike, we are checking out the lake levels now as we speak. So over here you're going to see video of Choke Canyon, which this is still a low Choke Canyon. It is currently at 8% full. Uh yesterday it has risen by 0.1% as water from the Freo is starting to slowly be add to Choke Canyon. Now Lake Corpus Christi is down from yesterday, but the water along the Newasis is still more than 6 days out from reaching well.

[00:02:40]We may start to see some of the earliest water reaching Lake Corpus Christie about 6 days out, but we still have a ways to go. But pretty impressive views there of Choke Canyon. Uh it is going to be interesting to see when we go back how high it gets where you see the different levels uh there of the drier or the the the less green ground versus where we have the greenery. So, this will be a good spot where we could check how lake levels have responded. Now when it comes to the river levels, so this is the Frio at Tilden. What we are watching is right. So the forecast still has it reaching major flood stage. There is a sign that it may be trying to level out, but uh the forecast still taking it to major flood stage. There is still a good chunk of water maybe downstream. What makes river forecasting very nuanced is as the water spreads out, it kind of goes into lowlying areas and then comes back into the river. But some of that is soaked up by the ground and some of it is evaporated. It was extra hot today.

[00:03:42]So a lot of evaporation also taking place not only on our lake but on our river and that plays a role in the forecast as well. Now the newasis river south of Tilden also expected to rise.

[00:03:54]So by Sunday we could be seeing that action stage and the river nearing minor flood stage at 14 ft. That's south of Tilden on the new oasis. So where it gets tricky is three rivers, right?

[00:04:05]Because that's where you have the Freo and the new oasis meet. However, the Freo is going to get stopped by the Choke Canyon Dam. That's why Choke Canyon was built. And so anyone that lives along the Freo at Three Rivers, not really concerned. But it's the newis through three rivers and then George West and any property along that portion there in Tivo County, it's got to be a little bit alert as the water right now is moving through Cula and on its way to Tilden. Uh and then from Tilden, it's going to take a little bit over a day to reach Three Rivers and then a little bit less than a day to make it to Choke Canyon. So, pretty impressive numbers there. The National Weather Service also mentioned that it takes a little bit over a 24-h hour period for the water from Tilden along the Freo to make it to Choke Canyon. So, that's a look at some of the numbers. We'll have a complete forecast and a look at Bertha still coming up. Leslie, Mike, Righty, Carly, thank you so