Residents happy to see debris removal crews in neighborhood

HOUSTON – With each scoop, more relief is felt as the debris piles disappear.

"I'm really glad to see that they are here," Pete Klumpp said.

For Stefanie Gillespie, taking things to the curb meant saying goodbye again.

"I had some old photographs and things in boxes on the floor and I did not have time to get them up, so they're gone," Gillespie said.

Despite treasures of life being tossed to the curb after floodwaters ruined them, there was a noticeable sense of gratitude for the cleanup process.

READ: 6 things to know about flood debris removal in Houston

"it's great to see them coming now. I appreciate them," Gillespie said.

Harris County is working hard to clean up the debris from the 30,000 homes that flooded.

"(We're) knocking out about 260 homes per day," Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said. "It took us three weeks to do the Tax Day Flood from last year's removal. Right now, these guys, in conjunction with our contractors, (should) be able to remove the same amount of volume in two days."

The first pass for the county should be done in three weeks, officials said.

For now, the work continues for the county and the homeowners.

Bill Lee of Precinct 4’s Road and Bridge crew has advice for people to make the debris removal go faster.

He calls it the 4P’s.

The first is for people to have patience. He said crews are working around the clock to get the debris removal done.

The second ‘P’ is for placement. Lee said to be sure not to stack garbage over fire hydrants and mail boxes. The operator using the claw to pick up debris may not see it.

“If it’s (the debris) stacked over the top of it, this operator cannot see that fire hydrant,” said Lee. “He reaches down, grabs hold of that pile, he doesn't know the fire hydrants there. Now we got another mess.”

The third ‘P” is for parking. Lee said it would help crews get to the debris piles faster if people parked in their driveways.

Lastly, the fourth ‘P’ is for public help. Residents can haul their own debris to 13928 Humble Rd. in Tomball. All you need is your ID to drop your debris off.

Click here for more information on debris removal in Harris County

Click here for more information from the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management

Click here for more information on Galveston's recovery from Harvey

Click here for information on how to register for Montgomery County's debris removal program

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