Austin Watershed Protection monitors for possible flooding this week

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the rain continues for the next few days in Central Texas, the City of Austin Watershed Protection said it is monitoring creeks and low water crossings for flooding this week.

The Austin Watershed Protection said it started preparing Thursday by fueling up trucks and making sure barricades were available if needed.

For one Austin neighborhood, the rain brought up bad memories from April 2023 when more than 70 homes ended up flooded because debris wasn't picked up from a creek.

'Still in the back of your head'

Ryan Albright said Watershed Protection added a camera in his northwest Austin neighborhood.

"This appeared maybe two or three months ago," Albright said. "It is progress."

Crews installed it nearly a year after this area flooded. Albright said, that before that flooding, the neighborhood's calls to the city about removing a 10 to 12-foot-high build-up of trees and limbs in the creek went unanswered.

It would eventually cost the homeowners thousands of dollars.

"People were looking at anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 worth of repairs in their homes," Albright said. "We know multiple people who are still in the process of repairing their homes."

Since then, Albright noticed more Watershed Protection trucks patrolling the area.

'We've got the staff now'

The Watershed Protection Division Manager Christopher Meyer said the department clears out creeks and channels throughout the year.

Meyer said it's all in preparation for rain events.

"We have crews out monitoring current low water crossings that are closed," Meyer said.

Since the flood last April in Albright's neighborhood, Meyer said they've made improvements.

"We've got new staff after that event, directed towards service request," Meyer said. "Specifically if some people call in an emergency, they see a tree that's down, we've got the staff now to go out there immediately and address it."

Still, when it starts to rain, Albright said the neighborhood starts to worry.

"That thought is still in the back of your head," Albright said.

He wants the increased presence to be permanent. "I hope that this is the standard," he said.