I currently live in Cinco Ranch, Texas, about 30 miles west of Houston. The last few days have been terrible, but it has been amazing to see how many volunteers have come out to help others.
Over the last few days I have been closely monitoring the levels in the Barker Reservoir: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv/?site_no=08072500. Water leaves government land once the Barker Reservoir reaches 95′, and it is currently at 101.5′, and appears to be peaking there.
This means that many homes in the area near the west end of the reservoir that are lower than 101.5′ have been flooded, and likely will be until the reservoir can be drained back to below the 95′ level. All water drained from the reservoir flows into Buffalo Bayou, and then eventually through downtown Houston and into the Gulf of Mexico. After all the rain over the last few days Buffalo Bayou has been completely inundated, which initially limited the amount of water that could be controlled released from the reservoir.
Hopefully, now that the rain has passed, the bayou will begin to drain into the Gulf and the reservoirs can begin to be drained at a faster rate, and people can return to their homes and begin the long task of rebuilding.