HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The steady stream of water has become an unwelcome sight and sound for neighbors along San Jose Street in Houston’s east side.
“It’s been leaking for about three months now, I guess,” Steve Rochon said. “It was brought to my attention when we started cleaning out the family home.”
Rochon said he noticed the leak in October. 311 documents show the leak was reported in November.
The 311 notes attached to the leak show that on Monday, an inspector was assigned for further investigation.
“A guy came out and looked at it,” Rochon recalled. “Sat in his truck for about an hour, and he left, and nothing has happened so far.”
ABC13 contacted the city about the leak. On Tuesday, two public works crews came, took photos, checked a water meter, and left.
A public works spokesperson told ABC13 the leak will be repaired by Thursday.
311 data shows water leaks are one of the top complaints. Over the past year, more than 35,000 water leak complaints have come in to 311. That’s about 400 fewer than the previous year.
Over the summer, public works officials told the city council it faced issues fixing water leaks because of how many they get per day, aging infrastructure, and lack of skilled workers. However, with council members saying the city faces a possible half-billion-dollar deficit in the future, neighbors don’t understand why leaks aren’t fixed more quickly.
“It’s sad,” Rochon said. “It’s sad our city allows millions of gallons of water to go down the drain, or money to go down the drain. It’s really sad.”
Public works officials told ABC13 there are 510 leaks like this one that have been tagged, waiting for repairs.
ABC13 was told that reported leaks are investigated by an inspector within 24 hours. After that, officials say the repair goes into a line based on the order it was received.
Emergencies, officials say, are addressed first. As for the others, they say the time frame is determined by the severity and number of leaks pending.
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