Millions of people in Texas could be at risk of having their water supply affected if a critical dam is impacted by rainfall linked to Hurricane Beryl.
The Lake Livingston Dam had already been put under "potential failure watch" after being damaged by heavy rainfall in June. It has since been undergoing repairs.
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The Trinity River, where the dam is located, supplies about 70% of Houston's water supply, meaning that a failure could impact the water pressure and supply to the city.
A spokesperson for the Houston Department of Public Works previously told KPRC 2 that the city of Houston draws water from two purification plants downstream of the dam.
"These two water purification plants serve more 3 million customers in the Greater Houston Metropolitan area with water," the Public Works spokesperson said. "If the Lake Livingston Dam operations were compromised and storage was not available, the pump station would continue to draw water from the Trinity River.
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"There may be potential disruption of water pressure and supply during times of peak water demand and low flow of the Trinity River. Additional water conservation measures may need to take place at that time."
On June 28, before Beryl battered Texas, the Trinity River Authority (TRA) had declared the dam was under "potential failure watch" after recent flooding and rainfall. The TRA noted that despite the warning, the dam was in "no immediate danger of failure or a breach." The organization began repairs days later.
Ahead of Beryl's arrival, the TRA said that it was monitoring its path and that initial mitigation efforts would be completed before rainfall associated with the storm arrived.
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On Tuesday, the organization confirmed that repairs had been completed.
"The completed repairs will help ensure that the dam is ready for the potential heavy rainfall related to Hurricane Beryl. So far, about 4-5 inches of rain fell in the area," the TRA said.
"If additional rain falls, related to the storm, the dam should perform as designed and handle the potential high-flow event without impacting the integrity of the dam."
Lake Livingston Dam, the only dam on the Trinity River's main stem and Texas' largest single-purpose reservoir at 83,000 acres, stretches 2.5 miles long.
There have long been concerns about the dam's vulnerability. It received an unsatisfactory assessment, the lowest rating, during a May inspection filed with the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, according to KPRC-TV.
A satellite company also said it had spotted "significant deformation" at parts of the dam after conducting analysis following the TRA's failure warning. It isn't clear whether the TRA's latest repairs addressed those particular risks.
On July 3, before Beryl hit Texas, the TRA said that Lake Livingston may be lowered by "as much as 3 feet to facilitate repairs over a 2-3 week period," and that this would happen "as soon as conditions allow."
Newsweek reached out to the Houston Department of Public Works and the TRA for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 before weakening into a tropic storm. As the hurricane hit the state, it killed at least three people, and caused power outages and flooding.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
