PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Hurricane season is 38 days away and flooding is at the top of everyone's mind, especially residents living in Port Arthur's Stonegate neighborhood.
Tropical storm Harvey hit the Stonegate community hard and the people who live in the neighborhood call it a flooding hotspot.
Now the City of Port Arthur is investing $17.8 million for drainage upgrades in the neighborhood that is off 9th Avenue.
The city is using the federal funds to complete the Stonegate drainage improvement project which is meant to increase the size of the current infrastructure and improve the city's drainage system.
"During Harvey we had 4, 5 feet of water all over the golf course. There was only one house on the golf course that didn't flood," said Babe Zaharias Golf Course Clubhouse Manager Mickey Hearn.
The golf course off Jimmy Johnson Boulevard serves as a retention pond during flooding to protect the Stonegate area.
To help, Port Arthur is draining ponds on the golf course to expand the drainage infrastructure.
"Digging ponds out and making them wider and gonna use them for retention ponds. Incase of another flood like that and hopefully it will alleviate some of the flooding problems for our neighbors across the street," Hearn said.
Hani Tohme, a consultant with Golden Triangle Consulting Engineers, tells 12News this will help the drainage system keep heavy rain or even a hurricane.
"In brief, what this project will do is increase the size of the infrastructure and improve the detention on the golf course. So that the water can be removed off the streets, and very quickly without causing any additional flooding. Like what happened during Harvey," Tohme said.
Gail Watson's wheelchair bound sister had to be rescued by boat during Harvey. Now she's encouraging others to have patience as the $17.8 million Stonegate drainage improvement project will take up to two years to complete.
"People are going to be complaining about the traffic and I have to go this way, and it takes me longer to go another way. But I think in the final end I'm glad that something is being done and everybody will be pleased because you won't have the water in your house, or won't have water blocked in the streets," said Watson.
There is a community meeting where residents can ask questions, voice concerns and learn more about the project. That is happening Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the City of Port Arthur Public Health facility meeting room.