Lingering Lake Flooding Has Soccer Programs Scrambling

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

GRAPEVINE (CBSDFW.COM) - With the triple-digit heat and North Texas lawns looking brown and thirsty, it's hard to believe that so many areas in the Metroplex were underwater a few months ago.

While there hasn't been any rain since July 8, some lake areas are still well above flood stage, leaving boaters, campers and athletes with no recourse.

Thousands of people in Grapevine and Southlake are scrambling to save their youth soccer program. At one point, the main playing fields closet to Lake Grapevine were under 18 feet of water. The carefully leveled, well groomed fields were the backbone of the Grapevine-Southlake Soccer Club program.

When Melissa Edwards looks at the bleachers and benches surrounded by mud and water a full two months after Lake Grapevine flooded, the extent of the damage to four large soccer fields is overwhelming. "This was our flagship facility," she said. "And I do say 'was'."

Edwards is president of the Grapevine-Southlake Soccer Club. She remembers monitoring the conditions and hoping the waters would recede.  "We came every other day in May and we could see fish flopping on our field."

The majority of the fields are still underwater and those that aren't are covered in thick layers of mud and sand. It's estimated, damages to the fields could reach up to $750,000 and take until next spring to get grass back on the pitches.

Grapevine Parks Director Kevin Mitchell said, "Worst case scenario we're going to have to scrape it and re-sod the fields. That's the worst case scenario. Until the water is off and we can make some evaluations we really don't know."

The hot, arid weather is causing a dip in some area lakes, but overall most are sitting just level. Lake Grapevine is one of the few area lakes that is still very high. As it stands, the lake is more than 15 feet above normal.

City of Grapevine Parks and recreation spokesperson Mona Burke said the heat has dried things out enough for major streets that have been closed for weeks, like Dove Road, to reopen.

"We'd have to have some significant rainfall for it to shift the other direction, but this extreme heat does help in that essence," she said. "We reopened Dove Road, which is fantastic, that's an area where a lot of residents actually travel back and forth through the city. And then [also opened] Fairway Drive of course, and that is a huge source for commuters."

Clay Church, a spokesperson with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says lakes like Ray Roberts and Lewisville are still above normal, but the levels aren't so high that a water release is needed. He said, "Lakes currently are holding waters in their flood pools, but no longer are discharging waters through the spillway."

There are some other side benefits of the heat -- the hot weather is drying things out at parks still closed from flooding and that is helping workers with the Army Corps perform safety checks.

Church says there could be more campsites open by Labor Day, but anyone heading out to an area lake is advised to check with the chosen park before making plans.

It could be the end of spring before the soccer fields around Lake Grapevine are useable again.  In the meantime, Southlake is adding extra soccer space in its parks and Grapevine/Colleyville Schools will let the league use its fields.

Despite the mess, the league plans on kicking off its fall season on schedule. "We had to flash up on our website 'Hey! We're still having a season. Please come!'," Edwards said.  "Our enrollment is down, so we'd really appreciate the parents out there relaying 'hey, we can still play! Don't worry!'"

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)