Bevil Oaks mayor thanks DD6 for drainage improvements

Every year, Southeast Texans brace themselves as hurricane season begins, praying their homes will be spared when the inevitable storms come. Local communities find themselves hoping for the best but preparing for the worst when severe weather strikes, especially since numerous homes flooded in 2017 and 2019 when major rain events inundated the area.

Bevil Oaks is one local area that was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and was struck again by Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019. When Harvey caused waters to rise over the banks of Pine Island Bayou, everyone in the small city felt the impact, and residents had to scramble to find somewhere to stay in the aftermath.

Now, according to General Manager Dr. Joseph Majdalani, he and his staff at Jefferson County Drainage District No. 6 (DD6) are working to alleviate some of that flooding to protect the 1,200-plus Bevil Oaks residents and their homes.

“The area has experienced flooding in 1979, 1994, 2015, 2017 and 2019,” Majdalani said of Bevil Oaks. “There are approximately 20 miles of drainage ditches that are influenced by the water levels in Pine Island Bayou during heavy rain events. My staff has been working hard to secure new rights-of-way and additional rights-of-way to expand the existing narrow easements in Bevil Oaks, which will allow the district’s maintenance crews to travel down the ditch banks to perform their maintenance operations.”

Since securing the necessary easements, Majdalani described, DD6 maintenance crews have been actively clearing ditches and performing routine maintenance in the Bevil Oaks area. Workers have also replaced two undersized, damaged 30-inch pipes in the Wayside Road ditch with 42-inch pipes tying into an adjacent drainage ditch to improve flow.

In January, DD6 met with Bevil Oaks Mayor Barbara Emmon, Ward I Councilman Louis “Bud” Merendino, and Jefferson County Pct. 1 Commissioner Vernon Pierce to discuss Bevil Oaks and its drainage needs. Majdalani said the effort to improve drainage in Bevil Oaks is ongoing and going quite well. According to him, the local leaders have been assisting in gaining easement access for DD6 to continue to maintain and improve drainage in Bevil Oaks.

“On Feb. 24, Engineer Doug Canant, Senior Project Manager John Murff, Superintendent Jason Jones and I attended a Bevil Oaks Town Hall Meeting to present maintenance updates to the mayor, council, Pct. 1 Commissioner Pierce and his staff, and the Bevil Oaks community,” Majdalani shared. “The presentation highlighted what has been done in the area over the last month and the district’s plans for the near future.

“This meeting was well attended, and residents voiced their appreciation and excitement about the work that was being performed in their neighborhood.”

Following the presentation, Mayor Emmons expressed her gratitude to DD6 for its efforts and indicated her constituents are equally pleased with the progress the district continues to make.

“I just wanted to say thank you and to tell you that I have gotten so much positive feedback from last night’s meeting… Word is spreading,” Mayor Emmons stated in a message to Majdalani. “Bevil Oaks residents feel like they are being heard.”

Majdalani said since the February meeting, Emmons and Councilman Merendino have assisted DD6 in attaining four additional drainage easements in Bevil Oaks.

“Although we still have a ways to go, this is an extremely good start in securing right-of-way on these narrow Bevil Oaks ditches to provide better access for system maintenance, which will result in improved drainage performance,” said Majdalani.

To learn more about DD6 and its projects, visit the ditrict’s website at dd6.org.