Particularly, homes that are closer to the West Fork of the San Jacinto River are prone to frequent flooding, residents said.
“I honestly regret ever buying this house, because now I kind of just feel like I’m stuck here,” homeowner Marquita Calderon said.
Meanwhile, since Montgomery County began its home buyout program in 2020, 15 of the 124 homes bought out have been located in the neighborhood, Recovery Manager Morgan Lumbley said.
Two-minute impact
The western and southern portions of River Plantation are within flood plains, per flood zone maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Being located in a 100-year flood plain means there’s a high risk of flooding, per FEMA.
Calderon said her home flooded during the storms in late April-early May.
“It started seeping in through the foundation,” Calderon said. “We stayed up until 3:30 in the morning trying to get water out of the house. We took every precaution. We sandbagged every single window, the door. We foamed the house.”
Before this year—when it happened twice—the West Fork of the San Jacinto River had not reached the major flood stage since August 2017.
Calderon said she believes the flooding is due to the management of the San Jacinto River.
“All they need to do is manage the outflow of the river. ... It’s a simple fix,” Calderon said.
Jason Millsaps, executive director of Montgomery County Emergency Management, said Lake Conroe dam releases increase downstream flooding, which can worsen flooding conditions when heavy rainfall saturates low-lying areas.
Aubrey Spear, the general manager of the San Jacinto River Authority, said water releases from Lake Conroe are necessary to protect the dam, which also holds back “a significant amount of the peak flows” from rain events.
“So the dam is actually lessening the natural flows from these rain events, which otherwise would not be mitigated at all,” Spear said.
Jamie Goodman, president of the River Plantation Community Improvement Association, said when disaster strikes, unaffected neighbors help residents rebuilding their homes.
This map below is an estimation of the flood zones and may not reflect exact boundaries.
In a typical year, Conroe accumulates around 36 inches of rain through Oct. 1, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. However, in 2024, Conroe has accumulated nearly 55 inches of rain through Oct. 1.
“The weather’s outside of our control. ... So there’s not a whole lot that we can really do ... versus just making people aware that you’ve got to be ready for [bad weather] when it comes,” Lumbley said. “Because it’s going to be a ‘when.’ It’s not an ‘if.’”
One recovery option residents might be eligible for is a home buyout. Montgomery County buys out previously flooded homes through programs associated with FEMA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Lumbley said.
Since 2020, the county has spent $28.72 million buying out 124 houses through four FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance programs and two HUD Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery programs, according to data provided by Lumbley. Through those six programs, 15 houses have been bought out in River Plantation.
Lumbley said after a flooding event, her office gets more calls from people about buyouts.
“River Plantation is really popular because we’ve purchased so many [homes] out there, people are aware that it’s there,” Lumbley said.
Diving in deeper
Resident Jimmy Lee, whose house has a retention wall and is built elevated 8 feet higher than his surrounding neighbors, said he’s seen many families move out due to the damages caused by the flooding of Brandon Road and the surrounding streets.
“My neighbor bought the house next door for his daughter,” Lee said. “After it flooded the first time, they rebuilt. But now with this last flood, they moved out and left the house gutted from inside.”
Lee said he and his wife didn’t experience any flooding, unlike the other houses on his street. But for homeowners like Calderon, she said making a decision on what to do next comes with challenges because her house has been considered substantially damaged by Montgomery County.
Lumbley said substantial damage determinations are enforced by FEMA, and homes that are considered substantially damaged must come into flood plain compliance. Ways to become compliant include demolition, elevation or opening up the bottom floor of a two-story house to allow water to flow through. Through its Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, FEMA does provide some funding for these projects.
However, Lumbley said she believes flood plain compliance doesn’t equal safety.
“Just because you’re above it does not guarantee that you’re not going to flood again,” Lumbley said. “Maybe you are above water, and maybe you don’t flood. But now you’re an island. And what happens if you have a medical emergency? ... If we could just remove the home, we don’t have to worry about anyone being in life danger.”
Going forward
On Sept. 23, FEMA selected Montgomery County’s 2023 Flood Mitigation Assistance application that will provide $2.2 million for seven home elevations in the county. Lumbley said the county is working through the award and obligation process.
“We haven’t done elevation in Montgomery County,” Lumbley said. “We’ll see how it works to see if it is a continued, viable option. But I think buyouts, really, it’s the final mitigation option. It’s probably the way to go.”
Meanwhile, residents like Calderon—whose home is on the market—are still rebuilding.
“It is what it is. We’re rebuilding. We’re back in our house. ... But this is going to happen again. This is not the last time this is going to happen,” she said. “My husband loves this house. He doesn’t want to move.”
Jessica Shorten contributed to this report.
