Granbury complex in limbo as North Texas cleans up from flooding

June 06--Sunny skies have replaced last week's floods but many areas of North Texas will be grappling with the aftermath for weeks, if not months.

In Granbury, the owners of the Lake Front Apartments and Townhomes, may be facing a lengthy battle with their insurance carrier. Shortly after the retaining walls began collapsing, the owners were told their policy didn't cover the damage.

"We have sent a letter to the insurance company asking them to put in writing the denial and the specific reasons for the denial," said Doug Parrish, whose brother, Wade Parrish, owns the complex.

Erosion caused by last week's heavy rains put some of the complex's apartments to the edge of Lake Granbury.

I don't know everything about insurance policies but the whole idea of insurance is to cover disasters and this certainly qualifies as a disaster.

Doug Parrish, brother of Granbury apartment complex owner

"They said land slides were not covered and referred to three specific pages in the policy," Parrish said. "I don't know everything about insurance policies but the whole idea of insurance is to cover disasters and this certainly qualifies as a disaster."

The apartments aren't in immediate danger of falling into the lake, and Granbury officials said it's now an issue between the apartment owners and their insurance carrier.

Tenants who were living in the 16-units were escorted into the complex on Sunday and Monday to recover their possessions.

A gofundme page has been established to try and raise funds for the Parrish family.

Upstream, in the Parker County neighborhood of Horseshoe Bend, floodwaters are slowly receding, leaving behind mud and debris.

On Monday, the Brazos River gauge at Dennis had dropped to 21.3 feet, down from a crest of 26.61 feet last week.

The Brazos River Authority closed a third flood gate Sunday night but two gates will likely remain open at Possum Kingdom Lake until at least this weekend, said BRA spokeswoman Judi Pierce. The Brazos River flood gauge at South Bend, above Possum Kingdom, was projected to crest in a moderate flood stage Monday at 26.2 feet.

"We're ramping down but it will definitely take until next week for all of this water to move through the system," Pierce said.

Pierce said the recent high water at Possum Kingdom does not rank among the top floods at the lake. At Lake Granbury, the flooding would rank fourth, roughly in a tie with one in 2007.

The amount of debris and mud was overwhelming, said Horseshoe Bend resident Bart Salter.

The good news is the sun is out but the bad news is it's baking all of the mud into a rock-like substance.

Horseshoe Bend resident Bart Salter

"The good news is the sun is out, but the bad news is it's baking all of the mud into a rock-like substance," said Salter said. "You're going to have to use brute force or a power wash to get rid of it."

Salter owns 13 Horseshoe rental Bend houses and said it would probably take six to eight weeks to get all of his properties back in shape. No water got into the homes but garages and outbuildings were flooded.

"I wish there was somebody to take these properties off of my hands but I don't think that's going to happen," Salter said.

Downstream, the Brazos River was still forcing road closures in southern Johnson County and northern Bosque County that may last for days. Texas 174 was closed across the Brazos near Kimball Bend.

UPDATED ROAD CLOSURES: SH 174 at the Brazos River (Kimball Bend) is closed and will remain... https://t.co/iXrf1wLz2R pic.twitter.com/XBxBuckEhS

-- Tim Jeske, EMC (@bosqueemc) June 6, 2016

With the rain gone, the warm, dry weather will stick around all week with highs in the low 90s. There is a 20 percent chance of rain on Sunday.

Bill Hanna: 817-390-7698, @fwhanna

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