Clear Lake Among The First Communities For Flood Reduction Project

HOUSTON, TX -- Efforts are underway to reduce localized flooding that results from poor or inadequate drainage in areas of Houston during incidents of heavy rain.

In January, the City of Houston create the Storm Water Action Team (SWAT) Program, and set aside $10 million to attack the problem and find the most troublesome flood prone areas by examining calls to the city’s 311 hotline.

Based on those 311 calls, the SWAT Program identified 100 projects throughout the city and expects to begin working on the first 22 projects (two in each district) this year.

“No longer will we be reactive, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement. “This approach will allow us to anticipate when and where improvements are needed and then take care of them before we have a problem. Last year, we focused on repairing potholes and streets. In 2017, the emphasis will be on flooding and drainage.”

The work encompasses everything from replacing sewer inlets and grates to regrading ditches and resizing culverts to minor erosion repairs and regular mowing.

Two key projects will be among the first in District E, which includes an area of Houston that stretches from Clear Lake to Kingwood.

Houston City Councilman Dave Martin, who represents District E, said in his monthly newsletter that the first two projects would be conducted in Clear Lake and would entail clearing and re-establishing a drainage ditch in the 2400 block of Albright Drive, and a second in the 500 block of keith Drive that would also involve clearing and re-establishing a drainage ditch there.

Martin said these are just the first two identified in District E, and that he will be working with Houston’s Chief Resiliency Office Stephen Costello to identify other projects in the area.

Some of those in the Kingwood area will likely be addressed through the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, especially as it relates to Kingwood Drive.

Kingwood Drive is listed on the city’s CIP among the top five in the worst roads in the Metro Houston area.

Kingwood Drive has been on the waiting list for improvement for several years and the time to make those improvements could come as soon as 2018.

As Mayor Turner and Mr. (Stephen)Costello continue to move forward with this new program, I look forward to working with them to address the needed repairs and improvements to District E drainage,” Martin said.

Meanwhile, District E residents will get the chance to speak with city leaders about theses projects and the Capital Improvement Plan at two schedule town hall meetings this month.

The first town hall meeting will be held in Clear Lake, on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 6:30 - 8 p.m., at the Space Center Houston Destiny Theater, located at 1601 NASA Parkway.

The second town hall meeting will take place on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at the Kingwood Community Center, located at 4102 Rustic Woods Drive.

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Image/Todd Dwyer via Flickr

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