East Houston homeowner says neighbor's sewage causing sinkhole in her backyard

Published November 6, 2026 10:07 PM CST

Imagine having so much of your neighbor's sewage draining into your backyard that it's creating a huge sinkhole. 

That's the dilemma for an East Houston homeowner, and she says all she gets from the city is lip service.

East Houston sewage causing backyard sinkhole

What they're saying:

Terese Taylor lives in a neighborhood off of Mesa Drive. 

Most of the houses in her neighborhood were built in the 1950s, and the sewer lines run behind the houses. According to Terese, the city moved her sewer line last year to connect with the main line in the front. 

Terese says she's been trying to get the city to come back out to correct some of the neighbor's sewage lines which are dumping into her backyard, creating a huge sinkhole. She says all she gets from the city is excuses. 

Terese shared some of her emails to 311 with us. Some state they will be out the next day, while others state the problem has been resolved. 

City employees see the situation daily when they go to the property to drain the sinkhole, yet they've done nothing to fix it.

Terese says the city told her they don't know how many homes are draining into her backyard. 

"The smell is bad if it rains, and it floods. The water goes all the way up to where the truck is, so we can't even come back here," she said. "It's deplorable."

Meanwhile, Terese's property is sinking.

The other side:

We reached out to a public works spokesperson, who told us he would have answers early next week. 

The Source: Terese 

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