Armando Gutierrez, public works director for the city of Port Arthur, said after Tropical Storm Harvey there has never been as much rain since Noah’s Ark.

“The rainfall surpasses rainfall from typhoons in the Pacific. This has never been seen here before,” he said.

Furthermore, it’s the public works department’s task to collect the one million plus cubic yards of debris from Harvey’s floodwaters. Though this is a huge number, Gutierrez said there’s room at the city’s landfill on Highway 73 to handle this.

“We’ve got a temporary permit from the State of Texas. We opened a second area at the landfill that’s 200 feet wide,” he said. “We’re piling waste to start building it up. The collection of debris will last four months. We’re four weeks into the program.”

In addition, there are reduction sites at the Jade Avenue Business Park, one on 19^th Street and one at Adams Park. Debris is compressed at these sites and then brought to the landfill.

Debris pickup is constantly being monitored by the state at all stages. For instance, crews can’t mix debris with hazardous waste and white goods which are appliances.

Gutierrez said it’s a very technical process collecting debris.

Construction and demolition debris along with electronic waste is currently being picked up. Picking up white goods hasn’t started yet.

Some independent contractors are also making pickups.

As of Friday, 175,000 cubic yards has been collected. Three new trucks have arrived with more on the way to replace the ones lost to Harvey so the city’s debris pickup can become more self-sufficient.

“The operation is very well monitored. We have to follow FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) guidelines,” he said.

Overall, Gutierrez said the city landfill is in good shape with anywhere from 65 to 75 years of life left. The landfill also accepts debris from the city of Groves and from commercial businesses.

Following Harvey, debris crews from Groves and Nederland helped do pickups in the city of Port Arthur. Gutierrez said he appreciates them and they have a good working relationship with the surrounding communities.