PARADISE VALLEY, AZ — After a Paradise Valley resident emailed ABC15 about a water leak lasting for days near his home, he says the City of Phoenix, which operates the water in that area, finally started fixing the problem.
Thousands of gallons of water are what the homeowner is saying is being wasted in the leak that had lasted for about four days.
“It’s frustrating, I think it’s embarrassing to the city and it’s costly to me,” said Ed Voss, a Paradise Valley resident.
Voss lives in Paradise Valley, but it is the City of Phoenix that oversees the water in his neighborhood. And that water was running freely away.
“This is the fourth time that the line from here to the street has broken,” said Voss.
Voss says this all started on Friday. Neighbors told him there was a big water leak on the edge of his property. He immediately called the Phoenix Water Services Department to get it fixed. By Monday afternoon, the leak was still there.
“It goes down three blocks, and then it goes into an arroyo, which is part of their flood control,” said Voss.
Voss has estimated that at least 30 gallons a minute have been dumped into the street non-stop. That is more than 86,000 gallons just over Saturday and Sunday. He says he has contacted Phoenix multiple times.
“I only use 15,000 a month here, so that’s about 10 months of water that’s gone down the street,” said Voss.
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It was only after ABC15 reached out to the City of Phoenix on Monday, Voss says, that things started to happen.
Crews and trucks showed up a couple of hours after our interview, making those long-awaited repairs.
In a statement to ABC15, the Phoenix Water Services Department defended their response:
“Regarding the prioritization of water leaks, Phoenix Water uses a tiered approach to ensure the most critical issues are addressed promptly. Factors that determine prioritization include:
1. Public Safety: Leaks posing safety hazards, such as flooding or road damage, receive immediate attention.
2. Water Loss Volume: Larger leaks that result in significant water waste are prioritized over minor drips or localized issues.
3. Service Impact: Leaks affecting customer access to water services or critical infrastructure are escalated for quicker resolution.
4. Proximity to Other Repairs: For efficiency, nearby repairs may be grouped together when possible.
While every reported leak is important, this systematic approach ensures resources are allocated to minimize risk and water waste across the city’s extensive infrastructure."
For Voss, the waste is just too much.
“They preach to us on my bill that water is precious, we live in a desert,” said Voss.
