Acres Homes residents blame illegal dumping for worsening flood risk
Heavy rain pushed water above Mansfield Street in Acres Homes, where neighbors said ditches full of tires and trash have been clogging for years. They fear the next storm will turn neglect into a flood.
Heavy rain pushed water above the curb on Mansfield Street in Acres Homes, exposing drainage ditches packed with tires, trash and other debris. Neighbors said the road stayed partly flooded by Wednesday, fish and turtles were left in pooled runoff, and one driver even ended up in a ditch after losing sight of the road. A metal-covered stretch of the street has also become what residents describe as a sinkhole after earlier repair attempts.
City records show at least 16 311 complaints tied to the 2100, 2200 and 2300 blocks of Mansfield Street since the start of 2025. Those calls covered illegal dumping, trash, overgrown weeds and drainage concerns, and residents said they have complained for months without seeing a lasting fix.
District B Council Member Tarsha Jackson’s office said it knew about the problem and planned to send a team to inspect the area and use a grappler truck to pull larger debris from the ditches. Houston Public Works says roadside ditches are part of the city’s open drainage system, and its Ditch Maintenance Section handles de-silting, re-grading and flushing culverts under driveways and streets. The department also says abutting property owners can help by clearing trash, light debris, overgrown vegetation and other obstructions.
For residents, the reporting path runs through Houston 311, which operates 24/7 for service requests and complaint tracking. City officials also advise calling 311 if standing water lasts more than two days, a standard that matters in Acres Homes, where even a short rain can leave blocked ditches holding water long enough to back up into the street.
The complaints on Mansfield Street fit a longer pattern in the neighborhood. Residents raised similar concerns in 2024, saying clogged ditches were flooding houses, and Acres Homes has also been hit by repeated illegal-dumping problems, including a dumped boat on Randolph Street late last year. Harris County Flood Control District says a major flood happens somewhere in the county about every two years, and county guidance says internal neighborhood drainage is usually the responsibility of the city, a utility district or Harris County in unincorporated areas. That leaves residents caught between agencies while storm season begins and every blocked ditch becomes a risk.
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