KILLEEN, Texas — A group of Killeen residents are voicing their frustrations and concerns about flooding issues they've been dealing with for years, a matter that they claim the City of Killeen is ignoring.
"It's awful, it's ridiculous that we are going through this," said Fred Santiago, who has been living in his house along Cheaney Drive for nearly four decades. "Knowing that we have been ignored. Every time it rains, I'm one of the ones that starts looking out the door to see how bad it is. It is sad that we have this kind of situation."
Santiago told 6 News that there is a narrow culvert that is taking on water from four different streets, creating a support issue, and then when it gets clogged, only more issues start.
"It will not support the water that is coming from all those apartments, coming downhill and we all get flooded," Santiago explained. "All the trash and debris that is coming from up there, it gets stuck in there and they start backing up the water to create the flooding."
Videos shared with 6 News show the rainwater submerging Cheaney Drive, some yards and also creeping up into a house that neighbors the culvert. Santiago and his neighbors have gotten shovels out to unclog the culvert and do what they can when the area starts to flood to mitigate the situation.
However, they want the City to create a better system for the entire neighborhood -- to keep them from being flooded out. Santiago said they've been ignored for years.
"I believe that this is a priority right here," Santiago said.
Santiago said he has been in touch with someone in the City's engineering department who recommended he report the matter to the Killeen Connect (SeeClickFix) app. Santiago said he "tried to report it and there are no options for our situation at all."
6 News reached out to The City of Killeen for a comment about this situation and to learn what is being done about the reported flooding issue. A spokesperson said they need more information to assess and our request could be addressed Monday, May 20. The spokesperson also made reference to the report tool that Santiago was already directed to.
"I will say that there is an option for a Water Leak or “other” and all issues submitted to the Killeen Connect (SeeClickFix) app are fixed between 24-72 hours successfully and residents can follow the progress as it’s addressed," Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Janell Ford wrote 6 News in an e-mail.
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