Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones (second from left) announced a $11.35 million investment to improve drainage infrastructure in six neighborhoods. (Kennedy Thomason/Community Impact)
Six northwest Harris County neighborhoods are receiving drainage upgrades, Commissioner Lesley Briones announced Aug. 14 at a press conference in the Windsong subdivision.
The overview
Precinct 4 is investing $11.35 million to improve drainage infrastructure in these neighborhoods with histories of repetitive flooding:
Northglen
Sheffield
Silvermill
Westfield
Westlake Forest
Windsong
Each project will cost $1 million-3.5 million, said Syan Rhodes, director of content and media relations for Precinct 4. The upgraded drainage systems will have higher capacity stormwater pipes, which will reduce street flooding and protect homes and vehicles during heavy rainfall, according to a news release.
Walter Hambrick, Precinct 4’s director of road and bridge operations, said the new infrastructure will hold and move more water through the county’s 2,500 linear mile Flood Control District.
Each project is estimated to take four to eight weeks to complete, with all six projects expected to wrap up this fall.
Six neighborhood drainage infrastructure projects across Precinct 4 will be completed this fall. (Courtesy Harris County Precinct 4)
Briones said the projects will impact 10,000 residents and more than 3,000 properties.
“As a result of these investments, there will be faster rainwater runoff, reduced street flooding, improved access in and out of the neighborhood — because when you’re trapped and your car cannot safely move, that is a problem, as many Harris County residents have experienced,” Briones said.
Some context
Rick Gomez, president of the Windsong Homeowners Association, said he has experienced many flooding events in the neighborhood. In July, some areas flooded from Tropical Storm Bertha’s heavy rainfall, he said. During the tropical storm, Houston experienced “widespread rainfall totals of 1 to 5 inches and isolated totals over 5 inches,” according to the National Weather Service.
Gomez, who has been a Windsong resident for more than 30 years, said the periodic flooding prevents residents with electric cars from safely leaving and returning to their homes.
Overall, residents are supportive of the project, he said.
“It’s all been positive comments from our residents that do experience some of the flooding in their street, and they’re excited about this project,” Gomez said.
