DETROIT – Residents living on Snowden Street said they’ve been dealing with continuous water main breaks, with one as recent as the Fourth of July.
Local 4 spoke with neighbors last summer who complained about the same issue.
The City of Detroit says the water was back on, and no homes were flooded, but that’s this time.
Neighbors said the debacle has become routine, and they want a long-term fix.
“I’m actually getting water to flush my toilet with,” said Walt Moore. “I Woke up yesterday at seven this morning to find out we didn’t have water.”
It’s no way to live, but neighbors said they’ve had to make it work, including Cheryl McClese, as she’s been a resident since 1972.
“For the last 15-20 years, that pipe over there, they just put Band-Aids on it,” said McClese.
Several neighbors contacted the water department Tuesday (July 4), but they don’t work on the holiday, causing even more of an inconvenience.
“I was supposed to go back to work, but I’m not about to leave my household with no water, so it’s costing me money now,” Moore said. “A car came down here just last night, flying, and almost slid into the pole. The pole had been knocked down before. It’s a hot spot because of the water.”
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown apologized to the neighborhood.
“I apologize to the neighborhood that has been affected,” said Brown.
Brown says it is unusual for one line to have multiple breaks this often and is taking a closer look.
“I’m asking my chief operating officer to work with our engineers to put cameras in that line and see if we move it up on the schedule for a complete replacement of the line,” Brown said.
Brown says once that’s done, they should get that data back shortly and, from there, move them up on the list for repairs.
He says it’s cheaper for them to do the replacement instead of coming out repeatedly for a break.
