Whitehouse council directs staff to design street upgrades after residents describe sewage backups, flooding on Dews Drive

Residents from Dews Drive told the Whitehouse City Council on May 27 that recurring flooding and a grease-clogged sewer main have caused raw sewage to bubble into yards and, in one case, to enter a home.

The council voted to direct staff to prepare a design and cost proposal for widening Dews Drive to standard city specifications — including curb, gutter and reclaiming the existing north-side ditch — and to negotiate options with property owners, including the possible purchase of one parcel, if necessary.

The discussion matters to the block’s homeowners because several residents said the existing roadside ditch no longer functions reliably after nearby development altered runoff patterns. “I walked in house and had a foul odor of raw sewage,” said DeMarcus Hawkins, who gave his address as 107 Dews Drive. He described sewage bubbling across his back yard and asked why he had been told the cleanup was his responsibility, noting that the overflowing pipe runs under his house.

City staff told the council that, under the Texas Tort Claims Act, cities generally are not liable for sewage backups onto private property and that the municipality is restricted from using public funds to do work on private property. Staff and the public works director said the city is taking a more proactive maintenance approach, adding degreasers and microorganisms in targeted spots to reduce grease blockages that can lead to lifts-station and main-line backups.

Neighbors and property owners described related drainage changes tied to nearby paving and new apartment construction that they say dump additional runoff into the ditch. “It used to be gravel parking. Now he’s paving a lot of it and dumping it on edge,” said Sidra Abella, a 105 Dews Drive resident, urging review of the storage facility’s stormwater runoff that she says now contributes to the problem.

Council members and staff outlined how a rebuild would typically be funded: the city would contract construction and could use a special assessment to bill property owners for a portion of curb-and-gutter costs over a multi-year term. Staff said similar past special assessments were paid out over roughly 10 years and typically carry a lien on the property if unpaid. The city noted it has used a mix of funding approaches on other neighborhood projects and that the council would set the share split if the property owners approve participation.

Residents urged more immediate cleanup help for sewage-contaminated yards; council members said the city will be more active in lift-station maintenance but that work on private yards remains legally constrained. Jeff (no last name), a commercial plumbing project manager who spoke from the audience, told the council that fixing the underlying hydraulics could require a larger drainage structure such as a 4-foot reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) or a lift/pump system rather than only a French drain.

After hearing from multiple neighbors and technical comments, Mayor James Wansley summarized staff directions: the city will have engineering prepare a curb-and-gutter concept and an opinion of probable construction cost, survey the north-side ditch flow so the design can be sized appropriately, and negotiate with property owners about right-of-way or cost-sharing. Council also asked staff to open discussions with the owner of the nearby parcel the neighbors repeatedly identified as worsening runoff, and to attempt to negotiate a purchase if that would help resolve the drainage path.

Council did not adopt any binding assessment or expenditure at the meeting; instead, members asked staff to return with engineered plans, cost estimates and options that would allow the council and property owners to decide on a preferred funding/share arrangement.

Residents were told the design phase will include outreach so property owners understand likely costs and right-of-way impacts before any formal special-assessment vote.