DICKINSON — During prolonged bouts of heavy rain, a Dickinson man’s garage becomes saturated in sewage, filling with ankle-deep filth from a floor drain.
John Williams, who lives in a garage apartment on 48th Street, said other nearby residents have dealt with the problem for years.
“After talking with a water (district) guy about six months ago, I was told it happens all the time,” Williams said. “The problem is when it rains, the overflow tanks for the water department fill up and overflow and there’s just no where for it to go.”
Keith Morgan, superintendent of water and wastewater for the district, said the issue could be indicative of aging sewerage.
“We spent about $300,000 last year and $600,000 to $700,000 this (fiscal) year on repairs and maintenance,” Morgan said. “The system is 60-plus years old and deteriorating so bad that it can cave in and take in rainwater when we get lots of rain.”
The Galveston County Water Control and Improvement District 1 is the oldest water district in the state, Morgan said. The district, which serves Dickinson, is in the process of evaluating the system to see what areas need the most repairs, he said.
“We’re going to try to go after a bond referendum next year,” Morgan said. “We’re not prepared with enough information for a vote this year.”
Morgan has found easement permits from 1953. He said there are no “quick fixes” for a system that old.
“To do every single line in the district that’s 25-plus years old, the ones that are made with inferior material, would cost $65 million from a previous estimate,” he said. “We’d probably need $50 million to make every bit of it PVC.”
PVC pipes are less susceptible to Dickinson’s shifting ground. The clay pipes crack and take in rainwater, he said.
Williams, meanwhile, and at least two of his neighbors continue to deal with pipes that don’t drain well.
Tim Fountain and his neighbor Anthony Fay live across the street from Williams. They’ve had trouble with exceptionally heavy rainfall the past few weeks.
Fay said the water district loosened a pipe cap in his driveway Wednesday and sewage spewed out. Remnants of the release remained.
Fountain said one of his showers and two sinks don’t drain well.
“I bought the house in 1995 and split the foundation repair with the owner,” Fountain said. “The ground is bad in this particular area … my (white) dog plays in the ditch, and sometimes comes back black as soot. I don’t know if it was sewage, but he was completely black.”
Morgan said he was unaware of the issues on 48th Street, but would determine if the problem is on private or public property.
“The gentlemen live in a part of town that has the original system there,” Morgan said. “We’ll do a work order and see what needs to be done over there, and see if it’s impacted by a big trunk sewer coming town Timber Drive that winds to the sewer plant.”
Morgan said some residents have been dealing with heavy-rain-induced sewage backups for 20 years.
“With an aging system, we’re doing all we can to combat that,” he said. “No one wants a tax increase … and as long as it’s flowing when they flush the commode, can turn on the faucet and get water, they don’t care about the age of the system.
“But when we can’t get water or flush the commode, then it’s a priority.”
