District E Residents,
Once again, we have been tested in a new way and provided an opportunity to improve our response during inclement weather. The City of Houston is evaluating this most recent event and working to learn new ways the City may evolve under similar circumstances in the future.
I want to first provide a HUGE thank you to our Houston Firefighters who were on shift for days in a row working in conditions that were far beyond anything they have experienced before, with call volumes at record highs with scarce resources. Our City of Houston Police Officers are also to be commended for their long shifts, efforts, and responses to theses emergencies across our vast City.
The professionalism and true grit of all our City's first responders, Houston Public Works employees and Solid Waste Management employees is unparalleled and I am thankful for their commitment to our residents. Many if not all of their own homes, families, and stations were impacted by the loss of power and water too.
Hopefully, we do not have to deal with the threats of ice or snow anytime soon. I think we have all learned the importance of preparing ourselves and our homes for all types of inclement weather. Now is a great time to replenish emergency supplies and take stock of items that may have been missing from your emergency kits. The City of Houston's Office of Emergency Management Office has a great resource for how to assemble "shelter-in-place" kits on their website.
If any residents do not already receive Alert Houston updates, I encourage you all to take a moment right now, and go sign up online at the link provided. These updates are extremely helpful before, during and after emergency events. Another great list to make sure you are a part of is the City's Everbridge account "Citizensnet". You can sign up for those notifications here. You can see an archive of the invaluable messages here.
I know most residents are working diligently on their homes and businesses today, repairing broken pipes and homes that have flooded. If you have storm debris that needs pick up, please report it to Houston 3-1-1 to be picked up by calling (713) - 837 - 0311. After you call in your storm debris for pick up, please follow up by emailing districte@houstontx.gov with your service request number and address.
My office will not be issuing a March Monthly Newsletter and will resume our monthly newsletter in April.
Stay safe,
Dave Martin
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Boil Water Notice Confusion |
Last week, a number of boil water notices were issued across the state and in the City of Houston. Since District E includes areas that had water infrastructure before they were annexed in to the City of Houston, our water systems are not impacted the same as the rest of the City of Houston water systems.
The City of Houston Boil Water notice was lifted yesterday. Clear Lake City Water Authority did issue a boil water notification on Tuesday, February 16, which was lifted yesterday at 4:30 p.m.
Houston Public Works created an online Water Service Map which contains 311 data on active Water Service Requests. The Water Service Map has layers and filters for each Water Service type, Council District, and Complete Communities, and many other features such as heat/density map, slide bars, zoom features to detail streets and view area institutions (schools, hospitals, places of worship, parks, etc.), multiple base map views, and street view.
The Water Service Map is web based, accessible from any device, available for public use and works best on Chrome. HPW is finalizing this map to include a live feed from 311 data by tomorrow and building a feature to customize a date range by the middle of this week.
Kingwood and Huffman's Water System is part of the City's infrastructure due to annexation, but the City utilizes, Inframark, as a local City contractor to maintain and respond to calls for service. Kingwood was never impacted by the City's Boil Water Notice but was impacted by discolored water within the Kingwood System created by issues regulating water pressure which stirred up natural magnesium sediment that occurs in the water lines.
Residents should report changes in water, color, pressure, odor, or taste to Houston 3-1-1 by calling (713) 837-0311. Inframark does a tremendous job with responding to each call expeditiously and were a tremendous help in responding to cracked water valves as well as individual residential outages, throughout our winter blast last week.
Clear Lake's water does come from the City's Southeast Water Purification Plant but the Clear Lake City Water Authority infrastructure for drinking water, sewer, and drainage is theirs to maintain and repair. It is recommended to familiarize yourself with their website and Facebook page during times of inclement weather events as they post timely updates related to their infrastructure.
The District E Office is working with Houston Public Works to improve future communications related to water outages, interruption of service, and boil water notice to "call-out" Kingwood and Clear Lake specifically in future releases and news conferences. Additionally, we are working with Harris County to educate them on these differences in our District's water as well. The Harris County Public Health map, which eventually got corrected, also created confusion among District E residents.
We appreciate everyone's patience as our office staff was also impacted by the storm losing power, water, internet and cell service during much of last week.
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City of Houston Urges Residents to Report Damages from Severe Winter Storm |
The City of Houston has begun focusing on recovery efforts and is urging residents to report residential damage caused by last week's Severe Winter Weather.
Houstonians can submit damages via the following "Personal Property Damage Reporting" forms:
Affected residents are urged to report severe winter weather damage to their homes. This will help the City of Houston provide an accurate summary of affected structures, which is required for the City and State to qualify for federal recovery assistance.
Additionally, it will allow City of Houston staff to understand the type of help the community needs as staff coordinates local resource with area partners. Please do not use the survey to request direct assistance or disaster relief. Submitting this form is not a way to receive aid.
Residents should continue to report broken pipes and water mains to 311 so that Houston Public Works can isolate the leak. To keep call wait times low, report service requests to 311 online at https://houstontx.gov/311 or via the Houston 311 app.
Houston residents should continue to visit www.HoustonEmergency.org for updates on the City's ongoing response to the winter storm. Recovery resource information is also available.
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Winter Storm Recovery Help |
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Hurricanes…tornados…earthquakes…tropical storms…floods…winter freezes...when the forces of nature are unleashed, the results are often devastating.
There is little anyone can do to prevent or reduce the power of natural disasters. United Way has put together resources to serve as a guide on the path to recovery. These resources can be found on their website here.
In times of disaster and every day, our 211 Texas/United Way HELPLINE is here. For help with recovery, or anything from food to child care, dial 211 any time, day or night.
Text HOUSTONFREEZE to 898211 to receive text updates about resources to help you recover from the winter storm. Regular text messaging rates apply.
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Thank You to Our Water Distribution Volunteers |
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Tremendous thank you to all the volunteers District E had from: Houston Police Department, Harris County Precinct 3 Constable Herman Eagleton, Congressman Dan Crenshaw's Office, Residents of North Shore, Residents of Clear Lake, and the Space Center Rotary that helped the District E Team setup water distribution events at Kingwood Baptist Church, Humble Area Assistance Ministries, Uvalde Baptist Church, Exploration Green, and Ellington Field Airport/Clear Lake Neighborhood Recycling Center last week.
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The Houston Health Department and its agency partners have announced the schedule for sites offering free COVID-19 tests the week of February 22, 2021.
Kingwood Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood, TX 77345
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 - Saturday, February 27, 2021
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Multicultural Center
951 Tristar Dr, Webster, TX 77598
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 - Saturday, February 27, 2021
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Please keep in mind there are testing sites throughout the City open to the public for free testing. You may see a comprehensive list of those sites by visiting the City's COVID-19 information website here.
The Houston Health Department's COVID-19 vaccine waitlist is now open to people age 65 and older, people age 60 and older with chronic health conditions, and people with disabilities. Those who qualify may call the department’s Area Agency on Aging at 832-393-4301 to leave a voicemail with their name and phone number. Calls will be returned for screening and scheduling as supply is available.
When supply of vaccination doses increases, the department will open the appointment portal and post the link on this page.
The City of Houston resumed second doses this weekend by scheduling the 4,784 second doses due the of the storm. Notifications for second doses due today and will continue to do so normally this week, 24-48 hours before the recommended 28-day due date.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has created an interactive map to assist in locating COVID-19 Vaccine Providers within your community. Additionally, their website has more resources related to the Texas Plan for the COVID-19 Vaccine.
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