HOUSTON – If you’re still dealing with storm debris from derecho or the heavy rainfall the Houston area has seen the past few weeks and thought you would be able to track the city’s progress on cleaning it up, you may have to wait a little while longer.
Shortly after the May 16 storm, the City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) said it would release a new tool designed to help residents track the progress of storm debris cleanup.
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The Storm Debris Collection progress tracker was intended to allow Houstonians to monitor daily debris collection efforts following the devastating derecho.
On June 3, the Solid Waste Management Department said it had to delay the release to ensure it provides accurate and up-to-date information.
Now, more than a week later, the department said it has hired five new subcontractors and 100 new trucks to pick up storm debris.
Due to the number of crews, the department said keeping the tracker in real-time has proven to be challenging and several stakeholders are working to verify the data uploaded to the map so that they can provide accurate and current information.
“Our storm debris tracker is directionally accurate, but we are working with way too many data points to put out something informative and accurate. We are tracking debris pickup constantly and have twice-daily conversations about the output and flexibility of the contractors,” the department said in a statement to KPRC 2 News.
Although there has not been a clear date set on when the storm tracker will be released or if it’s still in the plans, the department says so far, the city has collected enough debris to “fill 1/3 of NRG Stadium and are about 75% complete with the first pass.”