It has been more than 40 days since Hurricane Beryl tore down trees throughout the Houston area, leading to huge piles of debris being left outside many homes.
In some cases, that debris has still not been picked up. It’s now decaying and leading to more than just pest problems.
One family in Garden Oaks dealing with that issue contacted KPRC 2.
“It has been seven weeks,” said Linda Reichle.
After the Hurricane, she and her husband, Rusty, went from seeing a lush and lively oak tree that shaded their property, to seeing its dead trunk and limbs piled in front of their home.
“July 8, I called 311, because I knew. So, we got it taken care of and piled out here,” Linda said.
Solid waste crews never came.
“And probably after about three weeks was the first time, I called 311 back, and they were like, ‘We’ve got your number. They’re going to take care of it.’ So, I let it go,” she said.
But after receiving no assistance, the Reichles decided to contact their councilman, Mario Castillo’s office.
“No resolve,” Linda said.
They even tried the mayor’s office: Still nothing. Their frustration has reached its peak.
“I saw all the workers on another block yesterday. I said, ‘Great, it worked, they’re cleaning us up,’ because there’s another block… Same situation. They picked all of them up today. We both asked them about coming to our house, and they said, ‘Nope we don’t have a work order,’” Linda said.
Furthermore, the couple got an email saying the ticket was closed.
“Well, I got that today at 3:20 [p.m.],” Linda said.
Worse than just an eyesore, the Reichles say the massive pile of debris is blocking what’s usually a clear passageway for kids to walk to their Montessori school right next door. Instead, they’re forced into a busy, but narrow, street.
“Kids ride bikes, they ride scooters, they walk, and it’s a narrow street, so cars are going back and forth, and I’m scared that some kids going to be here, and a car is going to hit them,” Linda said.
The good news is, after we contacted the mayor’s office, a spokesperson promised it would get resolved.
We also spoke to Houston’s Solid Waste Department, where a representative said she is ‘very sorry for the inconvenience’ and promised to quickly resolve the issue.
“It is sad that that’s what it takes,” the Reichles said.
Meanwhile, city officials urge Houstonians dealing with similar issues to refer to the HTXcollects app, and the Solid Waste Departments home page for pick up schedules as additional crews have been contracted to pick up debris.
If they don’t show up as planned, you should report it to 311. If that doesn’t work, you can contact Deven Clarke at dclarke@kprc.com