Residents worried after massive sinkhole opens up in neighborhood: 'This is my biggest nightmare'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Clyde McKenzie has lived in his southwest Houston home for nearly two decades, but his land is starting to crumble away slowly.

"This is my biggest nightmare," he said after pointing to the now massive sinkhole that has slowly chewed away at his yard.

McKenzie said he noticed the hole in the fall when it was small, but it's now about the size of half of a football field.

"We're all worried about it," he said as he carefully navigated the uneven land.

McKenzie showed ABC13 the ground that is slowly sinking in behind his neighbor's home as well.

"This has been here a long time," he said after pointing to another sinkhole a few hundred yards away from the massive hole now tearing away at his yard.

There's another sinkhole on the opposite side of South Clarkwood Avenue. McKenzie also pointed to the cracks clearly visible in the road.

McKenzie thinks the damage is being caused by an old drainage pipe attached to a culvert that is supposed to spill into Brays Bayou.

He said he doesn't think the drainage pipe is working and said the coulee is now carving a new path under homes, schools, and a road.

"Nature is starting to come back," he said.

Houston Public Works said they're aware of the issue and have "inspected" this area.

A spokesperson with Houston Public Works said the project is part of the city's local drainage program, and this current project is still in the design phase and 60 percent complete.

A City of Houston website shows these projects can take up to 18 months to complete, but McKenzie said the problem is getting worse every time it rains.

"The pole, it's going to fall on my house or my neighbor's house eventually," he said.

McKenzie said CenterPoint Energy has already moved at least two poles because of the damage. He said the hole is already getting close to where they were placed.

"We need help," he said.

SEE ALSO: HISD bus falls into 8-foot-wide sinkhole in southeast Houston, officials say

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