LIVE OAK, Texas – In the Live Oak area, at least nine homeowners woke up to water pouring into their homes.
Residents on Shin Oak Drive, located near ongoing construction along Interstate 35 and Loop 1604, believe the project caused the flooding.
Marcia, a long-time resident, described the scene: “Three inches in the house when I got here. And you can see when you step down, it is absolutely everywhere.”
Marcia recently purchased new living room furniture and noted that in her 23 years of living there, she had never experienced flooding from the ditch.
“I don’t think they had the drainage plan properly for the highway construction,” Marcia said, in part. “There are nine homes that I know of, plus some behind me. Our houses have all been flooded out.”
Marcia’s daughter, Sarah, who lives nearby, reported similar issues.
“It was coming up through this bookshelf right here on the end. It’s coming up through the walls,” she said.
Sarah expressed frustration over the water damage to her brand-new dryer, which had just been delivered a few days prior.
“It was coming up through the baseboards over there,” Sarah added.
Both women are convinced the flooding resulted from the construction.
“Especially that pickleball court being built because there are rocks from their stuff in my backyard,” Sarah said.
Sarah explained that the land on the other side of the highway previously allowed water to drain, but now it has nowhere to go.
Homeowners noted that a large drainage ditch behind several homes did not seem to be the source of the water, given the debris scattered throughout their homes.
“What’s done is done. It’s Mother Nature,” Sarah said, but she wished for better planning from the city.
Marcia remained calm amidst the chaos, stating, “I’ve been calm so far, and I’m just going to give God the glory on that one.”
In response to the homeowners’ claims, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) issued a statement saying, “There was a significant amount of rainfall in a short period of time overnight and this morning. The I-35 construction project has not impacted or altered the existing drainage facilities near Shin Oak Drive. Our project team will look into this further.”
