HARRIS COUNTY – Josue Viera says it’s a sight big enough to make anyone’s eyes sore; the ditches of East Aldine in Harris County.
“It doesn’t go anywhere,” Viera said, referring to the water that collects in the ditches that are supposed to drain rainwater.
“This is probably about, I want to say Monday night,” he said referring to the water that hadn’t drained since the last storm to hit the Houston area.
“Very minimal drainage,” he added. “Not enough to dry up properly.”
There’s cause for concern on Armory Street, where neighbors say rainwater hasn’t properly drained for years. “Every time it rains, everybody sees their properties flooding out here. There’s a lot of water, stagnant water, in people’s properties out here,” he says.
Viera first emailed pictures of the water to Harris County Precinct 2 back in 2015. Friday marks seven years to the date he did so.
“They used to come out here, dig the ditches, clean them out, kinda clean out the culverts so all the water can run through. [But] that hasn’t been done in years,” Viera said.
Parts of Aldine have had drainage concerns for decades. In East Aldine, ditches drain into nearby Greens and Halls Bayous. However, there are no storm drains in this part of North Harris County.
“There has been a lot of negligence in investing in our infrastructure,” said Aldine resident and community leader Shirley Ronquillo. Ronquillo has lived on Kowis Street since 1980.
“We don’t have any drainage,” she said.
Kowis Street is one block from the Houston city line, where drainage works much more effectively, neighbors said.
“There are areas that are very neglected. And there are areas that have zero lighting, continuously flood and I actually don’t know how people get in and out of their homes,” Ronquillo added.
Work on a street improvement project along Kowis Street is slated to begin in April.
According to Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s Office, the project will include drainage improvements.
Neighbors said any improvement would make a difference and that they will be watching to see if the project nets the improvements they desperately need.