Public Works

The City's Public Works Department is responsible for the repair, operation and maintenance of the City's public streets, traffic control devices, trails and sidewalks, bridges, drainage system, trash and recycling, and animal services in addition to the City's Water and Wastewater Utility System.

The City takes pride in providing our own Water to our residents. We maintain a tradition of producing ample SUPERIOR quality water, vigilantly maintaining our water and wastewater infrastructure, and providing responsive and efficient customer-oriented service in a cost-effective manner emphasizing responsible environmental stewardship and compliance with all regulatory requirements. The City purchases water from the City of Houston to ensure we are in compliance with the Harris Galveston County Subsidence District's requirements. Bunker Hill Village has a Utility Fund that is self supporting through rates.

To Report a problem/issue regarding Public Works within the City of Bunker Hill Village, please use the Report a Problem form:

Report A Problem

Water Service Provider Consumer Confidence Report

As your water service provider, The City of Bunker Hill Village is pleased to provide the Annual Drinking Water Quality Report in accordance with the requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

”The very purpose of the City's being was and is to provide and perpetuate a quiet, tranquil, safe, and orderly community of single-family homes, with abundant greenery and open spaces, clean air and water, a safe environment, and other amenities conducive to the development and enjoyment of family life."

     This statement came from the zoning ordinance which was part of establishing the City of Bunker Hill Village. City leaders and staff continually strive to provide you with safe, clean water to drink and ensure our environment is a place you want to call home. The information provided in this document details water quality and efforts underway to ensure our natural assets are preserved.

Where Does Our Drinking Water Come From?   (Sources of Drinking Water)

The City owns four water wells in which we pump water from underground. We also are mandated to purchase surface water from the City of Houston to supplement our water supply as an effort to address ground subsidence in the Houston area. Approximately 50% of our drinking water is purchased from the City of Houston. All sources of water are blended and chlorine based sterilization is added to insure that the water continues to be safe for consumption after the water leaves the production facilities. Information in this report represents the water we produce and water supplied by the City of Houston and is intended to provide you with important information about your drinking water and the efforts made to keep your water safe. All information is for the calendar year of 2014.      

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pickup substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPAs Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

-   Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.

-   Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally-occurring or result from urban storm water runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

-   Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff, and residential uses.

-   Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.

-   Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

Continue to the report

We ask you to join us in keeping our city beautiful while conserving water as shown by our water environmental tips. Remember that our stormwater runoff makes its way through our drainage system ending in our bayous and lakes for future surface water user. Thank you!

Environmental Tips

• Adjust irrigation systems so that you don't over water. 1" per week is typically sufficient.
• Mulch flower and shrub beds to help retain the moisture longer.
• Have your irrigation system inspected annually to find damaged valves and heads.
• Install a quality rain detection device to shut the system off during rain.
• Adjust your system to operate in the early morning hours before 5 a.m.
• Choose sprinkler heads which produce larger drops and not a fine mist.
• Don't over fertilize - residential fertilizer runoff is a major pollutant of Buffalo Bayou.
• Use our doggy stations for your pet waste when on our trails.
• Do not dump waste (grass clippings, oil, ...) into storm inlets or ditches.

DRAINAGE

DRAINAGE OVERVIEW

The City’s drainage requirements are based on a concept called “No Net New”. In order to fully understand this concept, some history of the city is required. Several years ago, our first Master Drainage Plan was created. This document was created as a result of more than 300 homes flooding in the city. The goal of our first plan was to create a global roadmap to construct new drainage from all areas of the city and deliver that water to Buffalo Bayou.  (CLICK HERE TO SEE A MAP OF THE PLANNED DRAINAGE PATHS)

Our citizens have invested almost $20 million to construct the projects of the first Master Drainage Plan. Since the completion of these first drainage projects, Harris County Flood Control, the entity which owns and operates Buffalo Bayou, has restricted any increase in drainage to that waterway. As the city redevelops with new homes and additional runoff generated from new lot coverage, a storage location for the water has to be created. This is why underground detention is required for a project when additional non-permeable coverage is created. The storage is required for the planned addition above what was previously existing, hence the name “No Net New” runoff.

After the first edition of our drainage ordinance was in place, we began seeing an issue with the application of the requirements to the medium and smaller lots of the city. Specifically, when a new home was planned and the required detention was constructed, a substantial cost was encountered later by home owners who wanted to add a new pool, outdoor kitchen or other non-permeable lot coverage project. The additional lot coverage meant that additional underground storm water detention would be required. For lots with an area of 25,000 sf or less, the majority were developing to the maximum allowable non-permeable lot coverage of 45%. So, for these size lots, the drainage ordinance was revised to require all of the detention to be in place at the time of the new home construction. This means that no additional underground detention would be required as new homeowner projects are added. The ultimate required detention would already be in place.

An update to the City’s Master Drainage Plan was recently completed to map out future improvements to the City’s drainage. As a result, several city storm water detention projects have been completed adding approximately $4 million in additional drainage improvements. Our partnership with everyone who builds new homes allows us to improve the overall drainage of the city incrementally as each new home is constructed. Our goal is to allow redevelopment to occur without impacting the existing homes and properties.