Open houses held to inform the public about drainage
Published 3:50 pm Thursday, November 16, 2017
By Lorenzo Salinas
With a well-prepared layout of pictures, maps, handouts and a slide-reel, professionals and board trustees alike stood at the ready to expertly inform anyone with questions just what Drainage District 7 is and what it does.
In a series of three open houses that ran from Monday through Wednesday in the greater Port Arthur area, Drainage District 7 (DD7) sought to educate the public on topics like pump stations, the Hurricane Flood Protection Levee System and the overall workings of the drainage system.
It was an initiative designed by staff to better inform residents on the operations and maintenance of one of the three drainage districts operating in Jefferson County—and one that has been the focus lately of the public and media in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey where historic amounts of flooding inundated much of Southeast Texas.
DD7 Manager Phil Kelley said the first open house in Port Arthur drew approximately 45 to 50 people and the one in Groves drew approximately 22 to 24 people.
Nestled in the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Port Neches Wednesday, the third and final open house attracted about 12 people by 5:30 p.m.
Kelley said a lot of people either felt satisfied with the answers they had received at recent events regarding the flooding and DD7’s role in mitigating it. He did say some people felt the District wasn’t being honest with them.
Regardless, Kelley’s response was always the same: “The system got more rain than it was designed to handle.”
When speaking about the quality and frequency of drainage upkeep and updates, Kelley said DD7 maintains the entire system regularly and improves it when decision, time and funds allow for it.
“Ever since the system-wide study in 2002, we’ve been proactive,” Kelley said.
He listed system updates like channel-widening, drainage improvements and the construction of the Halbouty Detention Pond as just some of the measures the District has taken to better develop an area that encompasses roughly 107 square miles and a system that comprises 280 miles of concrete and earthen outfall ditches, 36 miles of levee and seawalls and 20 pump stations that tout a total pumping capacity of 8.2 million gallons per minute.
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, we have been improving the system,” he said.
DD7 holds regular board meetings open to the public on the first and third Tuesday of every month at their temporary office on the third floor of Community Bank of Texas in Groves.
