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Homeowner presses Whitehouse council for fixes as Dews Drive flooding persists
Summary
Homeowner DeMarcus Hawkins urged the council to resolve chronic flooding at 107 Dews Drive; staff and council said state law limits city work on private property but agreed to apply the new drainage scoring and provide an assessment.
DeMarcus Hawkins told the Whitehouse City Council at its March meeting that his house at 107 Dews Drive has flooded repeatedly since about 1998 and that recent work to deepen a roadside ditch has only partially helped. Hawkins said the privately located low spot behind several homes — described in the meeting as a long-standing feature used to hold runoff — repeatedly fills and allows water to reach his house during heavy storms.
City staff and council members described a long history of attempts to reduce flooding at the location, including earlier offers to purchase private property for use as a retention area and prior proposals for curb-and-gutter installation funded via a property-owner petition. Staff explained that, under Texas state law, the city’s authority is limited to work on public property and that private-property drainage or actions that would divert water onto neighbors typically constitute civil matters between property owners.
Council members and staff encouraged Mr. Hawkins to pursue a private engineered solution but also directed staff to apply the newly adopted drainage-assessment score (from the recently approved drainage maintenance policy) to his case and to email the completed assessment to council. Staff noted they have had engineers inspect Dews Drive and that the issue is complicated by downstream grades and the depth that would be required to carry private-yard drainage to a roadway connection.
Hawkins said he had sought city help for years, described repeated interior flooding and damage to flooring and furniture, and asked that the city find a solution that would not require him to litigate. Councilmembers reiterated the legal limits on city action and emphasized that, while curb-and-gutter or ditch work can help with roadway runoff, the bulk of the water affecting Hawkins’ home collects on private property to the rear of the lot.
The council directed staff to use the city’s drainage scoring tool to evaluate the complaint and requested that staff email the completed drainage assessment to council members; no formal city-funded remedy on private property was approved during the meeting.
