LACY LAKEVIEW, Texas (KXXV) — Some Lacy Lakeview neighbors have already had a lot to clean up this Spring due to heavy rains, including sewage in their homes and flooded backyards. This as — we still have a few weeks left to go in the severe weather season.
25 News Bobby Poitevint spent the last three weeks talking to neighbors and City Manager Calvin Hodde about the problems and long-term solutions.
Daniel Walling has faith in the City of Lacy Lakeview covering repair costs following his home being one of at least four homes reported to the city that was damaged from a sewage overflow in late April.
Walling had a personal visit from City Manager Calvin Hodde.
Walling said, “Hodde talked to me and said the city was not gonna leave me, anybody high and dry.”
Across the street, a collapsed sewer line was already being replaced before April’s hard rains. According to city leaders, those showers overwhelmed the system, causing the overflow.
However, Daniel believes repairs should have been done sooner, especially after seeing equipment in his neighborhood for weeks, which could have prevented this mess from happening in the first place.
“Should have been done already," Walling said.
Across I-35, off Mesquite Tree Road, Carmen Jones said she feels like her calls for help and a solution to her backyard's constant flooding go unanswered.
“For years, for decades but it’s (flooding) just getting worse" she said “if the city can’t do it, they need to reach out to the county to see what aid can be done to get the ditches properly dredged so that we can have good drainage.”
These concerns are not isolated to just these two neighbors. People have contacted 25 News Bobby Poitevint on Facebook for help.
Bobby sat down with City Manager Calvin Hodde to learn more about the future of fixing the city’s infrastructure and flooding in the area.
First, Hodde wants residents to know that infrastructure projects take time. Since 2022, the city has been planning to invest over 9 million dollars into capital improvement projects, which can include water and sewer, he said.
Hodde said most of the city’s decades-old infrastructure has never been replaced, and about 20% of it is in “decent shape."
He shared that a "conservative city council" over years past has halted raising properties taxes until last May when property taxes were increased and this now allows the city to rely more on tax revenue to boost projects than on bonds, as in years past and currently.
When it comes to a sewage overflow, is it ever happening again on Avenue H?
Bobby asked, “Do you have confidence that something like this won’t happen again?”
“I do," Hodde responded, adding that the line is being replaced now.
He said, “Also, on those four homes, just to be cautious, we actually put in a backflow prevention device on those four sewer systems.”
Regarding overflowing ditches, Hodde said ditches, including those on Mesquite Tree Road, have been cleared over the last two months. However, digging them out deeper, while that isn’t necessarily out of the question, is likely more difficult than some may think.
He said this process would include ground studies to determine where rainwater flows, and digging the ditches deeper could disturb underground systems such as infrastructure wiring or cables.
Regarding major future and current infrastructure projects, Hodde said that the asphalt will be relaid next when the Avenue H sewer project is complete.
Street resurfacing projects on Pecan, Stanfield, and Old Dallas Road will start on May 22nd, and they are expected to be completed later this year.
During Bobby's interview, Hodde said he keeps a list of all the people who have contacted him with questions or concerns and makes sure to follow up with them.
For those looking to contact City Manager Calvin Hodde, his city email is calvin.hodde@lacylakeview.org
