An East Houston homeowner says sewage from neighbouring properties is draining into her back garden and creating a growing sinkhole, while repeated reports to the city have so far brought little more than temporary pumping.
Terese Taylor, who lives near Mesa Drive, said the problem began after Houston officials moved her sewer connection last year to link it to the main line at the front of the properties. The homes in the area were largely built in the 1950s, with older sewer lines running behind them.
Taylor claims several nearby properties are now discharging wastewater into her garden. She said Houston Public Works crews have visited to drain the hole but have not addressed the underlying pipework.
East Houston sewage sinkhole leaves property sinking
Emails shared with local reporters show a series of Houston 311 responses telling Taylor that workers would attend, or that the issue had been resolved. She said the sinkhole nevertheless remained and continued to worsen.
Taylor also said city employees see the conditions for themselves when they attend the property, but told her they did not know how many homes were connected to the lines emptying into her garden.
“The smell is bad if it rains, and it floods,” she said. “The water goes all the way up to where the truck is, so we can’t even come back here. It’s deplorable.”
She said the ground beneath her property was now sinking, raising concerns about further damage to the garden and surrounding land. The homeowner has been left trying to establish which part of the sewer network is responsible for the flow.
Houston 311 allows residents to submit and track service requests, and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. ([311.houstontx.gov](https://311.houstontx.gov/?utm_source=openai))
A Houston Public Works spokesperson said the department had been contacted and that answers were expected early the following week.
