PASADENA, Texas — Right in the heart of Pasadena, you'll find Bashi Ban, a martial arts center, that runs an after-school program for kids.
"We work with children as early as 4 years old all the way to 100 years old, so if you feel young enough to try the program, you're always welcome here," Joe Contreras said.
And for months now, there's been something you can't miss when you arrive at the studio.
"The kids have mentioned it, the parents have mentioned that, and all of my staff have mentioned that as well," Contreras told KHOU 11 News.
It's not the sign out front, no, we're talking about a bubbling, overflowing, stinky mess coming straight from the sewer.
"It's the main sewage. It overflows with everything you can imagine that goes underground. The smell is disgusting. It's really hard to breathe when you go outside," Contreras said.
In fact, it's not just one, but two manholes that sit in front of the business that Contreras said are constantly overflowing with the nastiest of water.
"It's like a small river right now. My concern is that it gets worse and the whole parking lot gets flooded with nasty water," Contreras said.
Contreras said the smelly mess has been a weekly problem for nearly a year, and when he calls the City of Pasadena...
"They do take their time, they can take a week or so, sometimes they take two or three days, sometimes they take five days, to come and they probably just put a bandage because it just continues to happen," Contreras said.
After questions from KHOU 11, relief is on the way.
The City of Pasadena issued this statement: "We are aware of the situation at 7770 Spencer Highway. According to our new Wastewater Superintendent, the manhole in that area is very old and narrow, and too small for crews to enter. We have plans to replace that manhole with a larger fiberglass entry so that crews can physically enter instead of using a jet hose/vacuum to constantly have to suck out trapped debris.
"Last week, a remote camera was dropped in there and a proposal is now in place to repair and enlarge the line for much better flow and maintenance. It will be a large job. In addition, portions of Spencer Highway in that area are also under Harris County jurisdiction, so there is a lot of coordination leading up to this project."
The city could not give us an exact timetable for that repair, leaving Contreras hoping it's sooner rather than later. That's something that we'll be checking up on.