HOUSTON – Residents of Kingwood’s Deer Ridge Estates are expressing frustration over a persistent sewer issue that has plagued their neighborhood for years.
Homeowners claim their tax dollars are being wasted as the city’s public works department frequently sends crews to clear waste clogging a sewer line that isn’t properly connected to the city’s main system.
Houston’s Public Works spokesperson confirmed they do send crews to the neighborhood frequently. The spokesperson adds, the subdivision does have sewer lines but not all of it is connected to the city’s system. It may take several years before the issue is resolved.
“City Services is appearing here three and four times a week with a pump truck supervisor truck and sometimes a third truck in order to pump the waste out of this manhole,” said Chuck Hansen, a longtime homeowner.
The capital improvement project is still in the early stages and could take between five to seven years to complete. In the meantime, the city regularly sends out crews to manage the waste manually.
Hansen shared with KPRC 2’s Rilwan Balogun a picture he took in 2019 showing crews doing the same pattern: arriving to the area to pick empty it all out.
“It’s your tax dollars,” Hansen exclaimed. “You’re paying for this! And if we keep building more homes out here and we don’t address the problem, that number is only going to continue to go up.”
One home is under construction with two other lots sold. Hansen fears the problem with the sewer system will only get worse once more people move in.
“You’re wasting city services here. And, you know, considering money is so tight as it is,” he said.
Houston Public Works Statement:
“A handful of residential properties within Deer Ridge Estates are not currently connected to the City of Houston Wastewater system. The Houston Public Works Wastewater team monitors these homes and pumps out the waste to transport it to our facilities for processing. Plans to incorporate their wastewater lines into the main system are part of Capital Improvement Project (CIP) R-002011. The project was adopted into the 2024-2028 CIP Plan. It’s currently in the design phase, which is scheduled to take a few years to develop. Options include creating a new lift station and gravity main under neighborhood streets or adding them to a current operational lift station. All options are being reviewed.”
