League City public works crews worked overtime clearing the Westland Ranch ditch on Tuesday, July 21, as Tropical Storm Bertha churned toward the upper Texas coast.
Mayor Nick Long said on X that city crews were "hard at work" at the site and would continue working overtime "to address any pressing issues" ahead of the storm. The post included three photos showing crews operating heavy equipment at the ditch.
Bertha made landfall along the upper Texas coast on Thursday, July 23, with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was forecast to drop 2 to 4 inches of rain along the Texas Gulf Coast, with isolated totals as high as 6 inches.
The National Weather Service Houston issued multiple severe thunderstorm warnings covering League City on Wednesday, July 22, citing wind gusts up to 70 mph. One warning alone covered more than 353,000 people, 95 schools, and 8 hospitals.
Westland Ranch's flood risk
The ditch work carries extra weight for Westland Ranch residents. The neighborhood sits squarely in harm's way.
The D.R. Horton community off Magnolia Pass Lane carries a riverine flood risk score of 99.97 out of 100, according to flood risk data on Jome.com, a real estate listing site.
The city's storm preparation at Westland Ranch followed a broader push by Long on drainage maintenance. On Friday, July 17, the mayor posted that the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District was refusing to maintain drainage easements it owns in the nearby Westover Park neighborhood, and that League City had worked out a deal with a surrounding landowner to access the property and fix the problem itself.
$50 million drainage investment
League City has budgeted more than $50 million for drainage projects, including $31 million in fiscal year 2025-26, according to city budget documents reported by Community Impact in November 2025. City Manager John Baumgartner told Community Impact at the time that rising costs were one of the city's "biggest challenges," with expenses increasing about 50% since the pandemic.
"All the neighborhoods that were built pre-1990 that had the most impact from the flooding ... had major projects completed, and you see a noticeable difference," Baumgartner told Community Impact in November 2025.
The city has also pursued federal funding for large-scale regional drainage projects with Galveston County and other partners, Long said on X on April 23.
A Tropical Storm Watch was issued for Galveston County and much of the upper Texas coast as Bertha approached. Galveston County emergency officials said they were monitoring the storm but did not anticipate widespread impacts, according to KPRC 2.
No reports of specific flood damage in League City from Bertha were available as of Monday, July 27. Residents can report flooding or drainage concerns to the League City Public Works Department.
