Valley Manor Ditch Archives

8/1/2025 – After a month of supposedly working to restore conveyance of blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive, the culverts remain blocked and crews seem in no hurry to remove the sediment. They may be disputing whether they were hired to do that.

City Met With Community Representatives in June

Five weeks ago, on 6/24/2025, representatives of the Houston City Council District E office, Houston Public Works, Kings Forest and the Bear Branch Trail Association met to discuss clearing a ditch that had not been cleaned out for more than 20 years.

The ditch cuts through Kings Forest between Valley Manor and Twin Grove, next to Kingwood High School. Then it crosses under Kingwood Drive and empties into Kingwood Lake.

Valley Manor Ditch — *Ditch has no name. Just a number – G103-35-01.*

One week after City and community representatives met, a contractor started clearing trees around the ditch.

*Looking north up the ditch from over Kingwood Drive.*

However, after a full month, the contractor has yet to address the ditch itself, especially the critical blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive. And crews appear to be on hold. Activity has virtually ceased.

Confusion Re: Scope of Work

In talking with the contractor and the City, it has become clear that there is a misunderstanding regarding the project scope. No one at the City will send me the scope document or a contract outlining responsibilities despite repeated requests – both in person and via email. And the contractor keeps saying, “Talk to the City.”

The best I’ve been able to get is a suggestion that the scope may have been “vague.” Meanwhile, equipment has been mostly idle for two weeks.

The contractor has seven work days left before school starts on August 13. At that point, the logistics of working around thousands of high school students will make the work infinitely more complicated because of the need to close down at least one lane of Kingwood Drive.

Blockages Under Kingwood Drive Remain

Restoring conveyance will require removing lots of muck from areas around the culverts and in the median itself.

North of the westbound lanes on Kingwood Drive, culverts are half blocked with sediment. See below.

*Entry to culverts leading to median. Water drains toward top of frame.*

*Exit from same culverts. Looking N across median toward westbound Kingwood Drive.*

*Looking S again at opposite side of median. Eastbound lanes* *in distance.*

Clearly, plenty of sediment must be removed before conveyance of the culverts is fully restored. Based on the photos above, I estimate conveyance has been reduced 50 percent.

Half of Outfall Blockage Remains

The first photo below shows what the outfall on the south side of Kingwood Drive looked like before the start of work at the end of June. The second shows what it looked like today.

Comparing the pre- and post shots, it appears that the contractor removed half the sediment blocking the outfall. One of the workers told me they intended to finish this portion of the job. However, he didn’t know what they intend to do about the median and culverts. He also said they had finished removing brush.

Waiting On…?

For the past few days, I’ve seen unmarked contractor vehicles parked next to the job site. Periodically, someone leaves one and walks into the woods. One even sat in the excavator above while I photographed it.

But as of quitting time today, the excavator had not moved. I went back and checked it three hours later.

To my knowledge, it has not moved for several days. It’s hard to imagine why workers would go to work and not work.

City Council Member Fred Flickinger has vowed to find out next week whether the City is being billed for downtime.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/1/25

2894 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.

6/30/25 – The City of Houston Public Works Department wasted no time in starting to clean out a blocked ditch under Kingwood Drive. Once they found it.

The ditch, which parallels Valley Manor Drive west of Kingwood High School, had been neglected for so long that crews had a hard time finding it.

Distraught residents were ready to call in Indiana Jones. But City Council Member Fred Flickinger arrived first.

Still contractors are in for what qualifies as an “archeological dig.” Who knows what they’ll find in there? Residents found a mummified car wreck nearby, completely encased by a jungle of vines.

Photos of Work Beginning

Valley Manor Drainage Ditch Scouting Session — *Drainage Ditch Blockage West of High School in Kingwood Drive median. Before start of project.*

*Looking S toward Lake Kingwood. Here’s what that same area looks like today after the start of cleanup.*

It’s far from done. But at least you can see what you’re up against. Contractors are reportedly trying to get clearance from the Kingwood Country Club to remove the downstream blockage, too.

*Looking N from Kingwood Country Club Lake Course toward Kings Forest.*

*Still looking N at culverts under westbound Kingwood Drive, you can see they are literally half filled with silt.*

All that silt reduces conveyance and backs water up in heavy rains. 110 homes upstream from this blocked ditch under Kingwood Drive flooded during Harvey.

Scope of Work

According to Council Member Flickinger’s newsletter, the scope of work includes clearing and grubbing approximately six acres of land, removing and disposing of debris, trash, and tires at a landfill, as well as the removal of trees.

Any trees removed for the purpose of accessing the ditch will be replanted at a later date by Council Member Flickinger’s office with the help of Trees for Kingwood.

The project is entirely on Bear Branch Trail Association BBTA property and is being closely watched by BBTA and neighbors.

The project cost is $350,568.00 and is funded through the Houston Public Works Dedicated Drainage & Street Renewal Fund (DDSRF).

The City is preserving native trees wherever possible and trying only to remove invasive species. However, some trees may need to go to allow heavy equipment room to maneuver.

Project Completion, Work Hours, Impacts

Crews are already hard at work. And the project should end by Friday, August 29, 2025, weather permitting.

Construction activities will take place Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sundays upon approval from the project manager.

The City expects no impacts to the sanitary sewer system. During the course of the work, some minor water line adjustments will be necessary. Citizens will be notified 72 hours in advance of any water outages.

Safety Caution

Please be aware of flagmen and orange traffic cones that may be present on-site to guide traffic as needed. However, this project is not expected to cause any traffic or mobility issues, such as lane closures or a significant increase in truck traffic.

Also note: there may be elevated noise levels at times due to the use of construction equipment and vehicles in the area.

For more information, please contact the District E office at (832) 393-3008 or via email at districte@houstontx.gov.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/30/2025

2862 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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After Five Weeks, Culverts under Kingwood Drive Still Clogged