Dear Mayor Bill White,
We have an on-going problem in our neighborhood with drainage problems. The problem is the work being done is simply a patch job and does nothing for the existing problem. I have attached a timeline of pictures to hopefully assist a person in authority to see what is happening and find a solution to this problem.
This all came to my attention with Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. I am located on the corner of Brinkman and Martin and because of the stopped up drainage system and a lack of a retention area my house flooded. I was the only house on the block to flood because of my location because the water backs up from east to west then flows south down Brinkman where I am caught in the middle. The houses on the lower end of Brinkman (4500) and Chamboard in the Shepherd Park Plaza subdivision also flooded because where the retention area is supposed to be (behind the Church at 4544 Brinkman) or where it is suppose to drain, there is nothing resembling a retention area. In fact, as you will see in the pictures, the water that does get through has to drain upward. This water has nowhere to go. In 2004, the standing water finally washed away part of Brinkman. A crew was sent out to repair the street however; it is washing away again because of the high standing water. When we call about the high grass and debris in the ditches clogging the drainage, a crew comes out to mow then leaves the ditches full of trash and piles of chopped up debris clogging the drainage even more ( came on 6/18/07 and cut grass but did not pick up trash). I have placed several calls to 311 (two of the reference numbers are 187451 & 152448) and cannot get anyone to come out and get the limbs and clippings out of the culverts.
I have repeatedly called 311 and written but only to continuously told it is still pending or that the city workers came out here and nothing was done. I see this as a big waste of taxpayer?’s monies, and we still have a major drainage problem. The city has sent numerous people out to look at our problem, but we still have no solution.
I was uninsured for flooding when Allison hit so all repairs was out of pocket for me. Each time we have heavy rains I hold my breath until the rain stops giving a little break for the water to drain before the next round comes along. If my house floods again I will loose my property value not because I am in a flood zone, but because I cannot get my city to make much needed repairs.
I spend a lot of time in the River Oaks area I have witnessed major drainage work done in the area of Kirby and San Felipe. Does our area deserve less attention because we are not in the same tax bracket?
I know this letter is long but 6 years of pleading for some relief is long also. I am not an engineer but I do think that the money spent on patching a problem could have went a long way on fixing the problem for good. We have to have the area where the water drains into, deeper and where the water will flow freely. Larger culverts could help and if the city kept them cleaned out on a continuous basis after they mow, but most importantly, the water must have a retention area for the water to dump into and this needs to immediate attention.
We can spend millions helping people from another state but what about our on citizens of Houston, Texas.
Once again, I ask you, can you please send someone in authority to inspect our problem and oversee the work that is done. I wrote Mayor Bill White October 27, 2006 about the drainage and nothing was done. I promise you I will do my part by keeping my ditches clean and mowed and will notify the City when others are violating city property. My house is my home and I take great pride in it. Everything I have is invested in my property and I am asking you to please help me not loose my investment because of my City?’s lack of concern.
We have an on-going problem in our neighborhood with drainage problems. The problem is the work being done is simply a patch job and does nothing for the existing problem. I have attached a timeline of pictures to hopefully assist a person in authority to see what is happening and find a solution to this problem.
This all came to my attention with Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. I am located on the corner of Brinkman and Martin and because of the stopped up drainage system and a lack of a retention area my house flooded. I was the only house on the block to flood because of my location because the water backs up from east to west then flows south down Brinkman where I am caught in the middle. The houses on the lower end of Brinkman (4500) and Chamboard in the Shepherd Park Plaza subdivision also flooded because where the retention area is supposed to be (behind the Church at 4544 Brinkman) or where it is suppose to drain, there is nothing resembling a retention area. In fact, as you will see in the pictures, the water that does get through has to drain upward. This water has nowhere to go. In 2004, the standing water finally washed away part of Brinkman. A crew was sent out to repair the street however; it is washing away again because of the high standing water. When we call about the high grass and debris in the ditches clogging the drainage, a crew comes out to mow then leaves the ditches full of trash and piles of chopped up debris clogging the drainage even more ( came on 6/18/07 and cut grass but did not pick up trash). I have placed several calls to 311 (two of the reference numbers are 187451 & 152448) and cannot get anyone to come out and get the limbs and clippings out of the culverts.
I have repeatedly called 311 and written but only to continuously told it is still pending or that the city workers came out here and nothing was done. I see this as a big waste of taxpayer?’s monies, and we still have a major drainage problem. The city has sent numerous people out to look at our problem, but we still have no solution.
I was uninsured for flooding when Allison hit so all repairs was out of pocket for me. Each time we have heavy rains I hold my breath until the rain stops giving a little break for the water to drain before the next round comes along. If my house floods again I will loose my property value not because I am in a flood zone, but because I cannot get my city to make much needed repairs.
I spend a lot of time in the River Oaks area I have witnessed major drainage work done in the area of Kirby and San Felipe. Does our area deserve less attention because we are not in the same tax bracket?
I know this letter is long but 6 years of pleading for some relief is long also. I am not an engineer but I do think that the money spent on patching a problem could have went a long way on fixing the problem for good. We have to have the area where the water drains into, deeper and where the water will flow freely. Larger culverts could help and if the city kept them cleaned out on a continuous basis after they mow, but most importantly, the water must have a retention area for the water to dump into and this needs to immediate attention.
We can spend millions helping people from another state but what about our on citizens of Houston, Texas.
Once again, I ask you, can you please send someone in authority to inspect our problem and oversee the work that is done. I wrote Mayor Bill White October 27, 2006 about the drainage and nothing was done. I promise you I will do my part by keeping my ditches clean and mowed and will notify the City when others are violating city property. My house is my home and I take great pride in it. Everything I have is invested in my property and I am asking you to please help me not loose my investment because of my City?’s lack of concern.
