Acres Homes residents frustrated with clogged, uneven ditches causing houses to flood

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Ditches in Acres Homes are so clogged and uneven that they're causing homes to flood.

A resident says she's been trying to get city officials to fix the problem for more than a decade.

Manuela Lane's home has flooded five times, starting with Hurricane Ike in 2008. She and other residents in Acres Homes are frustrated.

Last year, Houston city officials reversed a decades-old policy that required property owners to maintain ditches, and they are now putting city crews in charge of it.

Residents say they have seen some improvements with the city taking over, but they say the upgrades aren't happening quickly or efficiently enough.

Some drains, they believe, will take re-leveling, especially because of redevelopment in the area.

"The city keeps allowing them to build up higher than us, and yet they are not fixing the ill infrastructure they are building on," Lane said. "Wouldn't you think it would be logical to fix the infrastructure and then permit somebody to build?"

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