TEMPLE, TX — As Tropical Depression Beta makes its way across the southeastern part of the state, some parts of Bell County are feeling its effects.
Angie Leon moved into her parent’s house on the east side of Temple a decade ago. Every time it rains, it’s the same story.
“It’s very frustrating and it’s unsafe and it’s unhealthy,” she said. “All kinds of items in the water float in our yard, and I'm a mother and a grandmother so I have to constantly keep watch to make sure they’re not picking up anything. Of course the kids can't play in it.”
On the other side of town, Martina Marinez told 25 News via Facebook that when it rains, it’s impossible to park in front of her home. Her makeshift curb just washes away. It’s a problem she's brought to the city’s attention.
“We are developing a drainage master plan that is identifying areas throughout Temple,” said Emily Parks, Temple’s public relations manager. “Especially in that eastern portion, that has drainage issues or you know, water backup issues.”
Temple officials say the older parts of town are more prone to flooding. As of right now, there’s not much they can do.
“Those homes were built before development codes were in place,” Parks explained. “So a lot of them oftentimes deal with flooding issues or other issues that were just there before the developers were required to put steps in place to resolve them.”
After hundreds of service requests, Leon says she grew frustrated with the lack of answers and took to social media for help.
“You don’t know where to go, who to ask for help so I went to Facebook. Everybody listens to Facebook,” Leon said. “Then I had a lot of feedback from other people saying, “Hey, i have the same problem.””
She’s asking for one thing.
“Fix the problem, please. Please make... drainage,” Leon said. “Please come out, and just really look at the situation.”
Officials say if you’re experiencing flooding to reach out to the City, and they will provide sandbags.
