Staff can later open the gates after a storm passes to drain water gradually ... If they shut too late, the bayou might not have enough capacity in central Houston to hold water.

In Meyerland, patches of water remained in the storm’s wake ... in the prairie west of Houston, or of digging Buffalo Bayou wider and deeper so it can safely drain more water from existing ...

Drainage ditches fill up with water near Fountain View Drive, between Richmond Avenue and Westheimer Street in Houston on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The City of Houston, already financially strapped ...