What Johnny Steele Dog Park Looks Like Completely Submerged Again

On-the-ground footage from KHOU reporter David Gonzalez shows just how much water the Johnny Steele Dog Parkredone and reopened 3 weeks ago following its last flood — took on yesterday. By the end of the downpour, floodwaters had risen up a few steps from where the park begins at the foot of the staircase leading to Allen Pkwy., as shown in the photo above.

That left these 2 out of luck:

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Compared to those that arrived earlier last month:

Yellow caution tape now sections off the park’s entrance:

Downstairs, cleanup crews have been working to remove the mud left behind by the washout, but an official timeline for the area’s recovery hasn’t yet been announced.

Video: David Gonzalez. Photos: Jim Spivey (Allen Pkwy. entrance and dogs); Adam Bennett (aftermath); Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool (flooded park and reopening)

Bayou Spillover

15 Comment

  • Yeah, it all slop again. Seems futile at this point.

  • Perhaps the solution is amphibious pets.

  • Its as though no one asked the question why no one had developed infrastructure down next to the bayou the first 150 or so years that this city existed.

  • I have seen the bayou flooded so many times over the years. Harvey was the only time I’ve ever seen all that silt left on the banks. Not even after Allison or Ike. The dog park will be just fine after this. It’s designed to flood.

  • I agree with bill_b – this is about one step past hosing off the patio.

  • @ Memebag: Do water spaniels qualify?

  • Memebag for the win. The thought of people walking around with nutria on leashes is amusing.

  • carry on folks. As stated, it’s designed to flood and it is going to flood, no need to write an article every time it does flood.

  • In other news, Buffalo Bayou has water in it and there are cars actually using the roads.

  • Ditto on the “calm down, everyone” line of thinking. If you cannot resist, please send your thoughts and prayers to the park. [sarcasm]

  • Just call it “Johnny Steele Dog Water Park” from now on and call it a day.

  • I don’t know aquaman. I just drove by and a quick hose down might not work unless you want your dog to get really muddy. The sidewalks are one thing but the field areas are fubared again. Not like Harvey but still pretty messy. If you clean it we will come.

  • @Turning_Basin
    Because the stretch of bayou that is actually impressive and wide enough to retain floodwaters within banks during heavy rains … is all wasted catering to heavy industry.

  • @fun nestle, why do you think the bayou looks completely different and is “wide and impressive” distal to, as it happens, the turning basin? 100+ years of widening and hardening of port related activity that not infrequently was lost in floods previously. The bayou interior to this with its high banks and normally very low flows (most of which on average is gray water) acts as a floodway.

  • The problem is that 1.5 million dollars, mostly donations, were spent on the new park while the space that preceded it was perfectly adequate and, one might argue, even better as a sprawling open meadow. Rather than spending the money on ill conceived water features and other amenities, the space could have simply been fenced in, with more/better benching added. The park was closed for reconstruction in July 2013, out of commission for a year and a half, until January 2015, and was mostly a muddy mess, unusable (at least on the big dog side) after it re-opened (pre-Harvey and other storms!). With the ongoing flooding, the park has been closed more than its been open, not to mention subject to the high cost of restoring it each time it does flood. This wasn’t an issue before the 2013-15 reconstruction!