Houston mayor says debris clean up is 'top priority,' but residents go months with trash in yards

KINGWOOD, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents of Sherwood Trails and Elm Grove in Kingwood contacted Eyewitness News, concerned about debris and heavy trash, which they say hasn't been picked up in months.

"We're just trying to get prepared and ready," Kristen Kroeger said.

Kroeger is cleaning up before this week's forecasted rain, but her biggest fear comes from her own front yard.

"When the floods come, it washes, it washes into the street, it washes into the drain, and then it gets backed up even more," Kroeger said.

STORY UPDATE: City clarifies debris pickup timeline for Kingwood neighborhood

Some is the usual trash, but a lot is from flooding in April and severe weather in May.

Those who live there say city crews haven't come to pick it up for two months.

"Lots of flies, bugs. It just brings down the look of the whole neighborhood," Kailyn Murray said. "That whole area where the heavy trash is sitting right now was underwater when it did flood. If that happened now, all of that trash would be wiped into the street and it would go down the drains, it would block up things, it could cause worse flooding."

Multiple residents say they've called 311, but the trash is still there.

"They claim they were behind before the storm, and I don't think they were, so it's going to get worse," Athens Phillips said.

Monday, Mayor John Whitmire said cleaning up debris is a top priority.

"We're on top of it but people are going to have to be patient and realize the volume of the debris is huge," he said.

The mayor said 225 contracted crews were out on the streets of Houston on Monday, in addition to the city's usual 150 crews.

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