Perry Contractors Encroaching on Porter Drainage Ditch West of Woodridge Village

Aerial photos taken Monday this week (5/11/2020) show that Perry Homes’ contractors appear to be partially blocking drainage that serves dozens of homes on the western side of Woodridge Village in Porter. With heavy rain expected this weekend, residents like Gretchen Dunlap Smith are nervous.

Homes Flooded Twice Last Year by Water that Could Not Get Out of Neighborhood

Many of those homes flooded twice last year, in May and September, just as homes in Elm Grove did.

Looking south toward Kingwood along the western edge of Woodridge Village in Montgomery County.

The issue with these homes, however, was that water could not get out of the neighborhood because of altered drainage.

Water drains to the east (left) into the drainage ditch along the perimeter of Woodridge, and then south toward the top of the photo to Taylor Gully.

This enlargement, cropped from the photo above, shows how the perimeter road is pushing into the drainage ditch for homes in the older Adams Oaks subdivision to the right.
Hovering over Flower Ridge in Porter and looking southeast. Note how workers have pushed past Perry’s own silt fence (upper right) that marked the old edge of the ditch and how dirt from construction is now collapsing into the ditch.

Heavy Rainfall Forecast for Saturday

After months of inactivity, it’s gratifying to see workers hustling again. But as the old saying goes, “Haste makes waste.” Forecasters are predicting widespread heavy rains this weekend. Predictions range from 2 to 4 inches, with pockets up to 6 inches.

Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist said this afternoon, “Expect a line or complex of slow-moving thunderstorms to move across SE TX Saturday starting out west in the morning and spreading across the area throughout the day. There will be a low severe threat with this activity, but the main threat will be heavy rainfall. 

As of Thursday, NOAA and the National Weather Service predict heavy rains and possible flash flooding across all of SE Texas.

That gives contractors one day, Friday, to clean out that ditch to avoid another possible flood and more possible lawsuits.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/14/2020

989 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 238 since Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.