Storms Swamp Fayette County
A deluge of rain swamped most of Fayette County last Friday, May 2. More than four inches fell in La Grange.
The biggest rainfall totals were reported just south of La Grange. Folks in the vicinity of East Radhost School Rd., Kruppa Rd. and the southern part of Guenther Rd. reported eight inches of rain. And most of it fell in just a few hours.
All of that water quickly swelled the confluence of Williams Creek and Cedar Branch. One home in the Williams Creek Estates subdivision, located at the corner of Guenther Rd. and Kruppa Rd. suffered flood damage. Floodwaters got awfully close to several others (see the story below).
Several area residents have already questioned why that property was developed into a residential subdivision. The home that flooded is located just 400 feet from Williams Creek. The property was subdivided in 2020. Fayette County Emergency Management Coordinator Angela Hahn said the home is not located in the floodplain according to maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Hahn said that she was not aware of any other homes that flooded in the unincorporated areas of the County. Floodwaters inundated several low water crossings in the County, especially in Precinct 4.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann said he checked on the family at the flooded home while surveying low water crossings last Friday. He said the family reported that water got into their shop and was starting to enter their home. Brossmann said he asked the family if they needed any help or needed to be evacuated, but they declined.
Brossmann said he has never seen the waters of Williams Creek rise so high. He said weather radar indicated that the storm cell hovered over the Williams Creek watershed most of Friday afternoon. At the headwaters of Williams Creek along West Radhost School Road, flood runoff rose above the road – something Brossmann said had never happened since the County installed large culverts in the right-of-way more than 30 years ago.
Hahn said the County has previously contracted with BEFCO Engineering to conduct a low water crossing examination. The results of that study may be coming soon, she said. Based on those findings, Hahn said the County will be better able to address low water crossings that need repair, renovations and also apply for more funding for those improvements.
Storm runoff inundated parts of La Grange Friday, especially on US 77 from the railroad tracks south to the edge of town. Gary Lincke of Lincke Floors in La Grange told the Record that vehicles driving through the flooded highway sent waves of water crashing up to the edge of his building. He sealed up cracks around the front door to keep water from coming in.
The Record reached out to La Grange City Manager Jack Thompson for a report on flooding in La Grange last Friday. He had not returned our call. Thompson has previously reported that some of the drainage issues along US 77 in town are due to a collapsed drain under US 77. He said Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for that drain.
At a City Council on March 10, Thompson told the Council that the City was soon going to be contacting landowners about easement acquisitions for the City’s long-awaited drainage improvement project.
More rain fell on Monday and Tuesday across Fayette County, with four inches recorded Monday in Carmine. That same day a child in Brenham who just got off a school bus was swept away by rapidly rising floodwaters near Firemen’s Park. Tragically, first responders found her deceased on Tuesday morning.