HOUSTON - Nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey, communities living around Lake Houston continue to deal with the storm's aftermath, so much debris has settled in the lake that its affected the water level.
City and state leaders are now working to remove that trash and debris. We're talking about tons and tons of debris that made its way into Lake Houston after Harvey.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner along with other city and state leaders toured the lake Friday morning to see the work that is being done to remove some of that debris.
The removal process started back in May and since then the mayor says crews have removed up to 2,000 cubic yards of debris every day. That's equal to about 50 dumpsters and they anticipate there is a lot more out there.
All of the debris has reduced the lake's capacity by up to 30 percent.
"I was in awe when you saw all of those logs and the vegetative debris that's out there and some of it wasn't vegetative, some of it was from the houses that have been repaired." said Mayor Sylvester Turner.
FEMA will pay 90 percent of the Harvey debris removal. The rest will be paid for by the city and county.
Mayor Turner says there needs to be a systematic approach to maintaining the lake. He says that's the responsibility of not only the city but county and federal agencies as well.