After Quitting Time, Contractor Pumps Silty Stormwater into Street
1/31/24 – At 5:20 today, about the time government inspectors usually knock off work and the sun was setting, I got a tip from a reader. The reader alerted me to flooding on Kings Park Way near West Lake Houston Parkway, adjacent to a new Trammell-Crow apartment complex that Harris County Engineering had cited for stormwater violations. I hustled down there. Here is what I found.
One Lane Flooded
The contractors were pumping silty stormwater into the street and flooding one lane of the road.
The hose pumping the water into the street appeared to be at least 4 inches.
They had placed sand bags around one storm drain to help filter the silt.
But the silty stormwater was so deep, it flowed in both directions…
…straight into another unprotected City of Houston storm drain down the block.
Mud covered sidewalks ankle deep…
…while an excavator dug a trench to make more muck flow toward the pump.
From the wet marks on the pavement, it appeared that the discharge had covered the entire right lane at one point.
This is Phase II of an apartment complex development. The land you see is owned by Kingwood Residences HTX and HTX II LLC. Both LLCs are owned by High Street Residential, a wholly owned operating subsidiary of Trammell Crow Company in Dallas. Their local headquarters are on 2800 POST OAK BLVD STE 400, HOUSTON TX 77056-6169. In case you chose to write them.
Public-Safety Issue
According to one study, “Sediment pollution is the single most common source of pollution in U.S. waters. Approximately 30% is caused by natural erosion, and the remaining 70% is caused by human activity. Construction activity is the most common source of sediment pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sediment pollution causes approximately $16 billion in environmental damage annually.”
Clogged drains affect road safety. Clogged rivers affect flood safety.
After Hurricane Harvey, the Army Corps found that sediment had blocked 90% of the West Fork. Dredging cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And another email from a boater that I found waiting for me when I got home from the disaster site alerted me to the fact that sediment is building back in at an alarming rate.
Perhaps Mr. Crow could help with the next round of dredging. In 2020, Trammell Crow Holdings was worth an estimated $19.6 billion.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/31/24
2346 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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.
