Questions remain for Houston Public Works after employee’s alleged corruption: Status of water lines

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As Houston grapples with the fallout from the alleged theft of millions in taxpayer dollars over a 10-month period, another significant issue arises: the state of the broken water lines those funds were meant to repair.

Eyewitness News inquired about the status of these repairs with the City of Houston Public Works Department but has yet to receive a response.

“I’m working with my team to get the latest information,” a department spokesperson said. “I’ll be in touch once I have more.”

So far, no further information has been provided to .

On Friday, former Public Works employee Patrece Lee was charged with multiple counts of bribery and abuse of official capacity. Lee is accused of funneling money through several businesses that were supposed to hire outside contractors to repair breaks in the city’s water infrastructure. Lee is one of seven individuals charged in connection with this case.

The accused individuals, as listed in court documents, include:
– Andrew Travis Thomas, Lee’s brother and registered agent of Lu’s Construction and Inspection
– Danielle Hurts, a former City of Houston contract employee
– Joseph Nerie, owner of Nerie Construction
– Edelmiro Castillo, owner of Omega Engineering, Inc.
– Tiesha Coleman Houston, owner of T.J. Cole Enterprises, LLC
– Frank Perkins, owner of CST Connections, LLC

In 2023, the City of Houston approved up to $80 million for hiring outside contractors to repair water main breaks.

is investigating which projects were affected by the alleged crime and determining the current number of active leaks in the city. As of mid-April, there were approximately 1,000 active leak work orders.