PHOENIX — Residents in a north Phoenix neighborhood are upset that it took the city two weeks to fix a water leak, leaving behind a smelly mess.
“I noticed it was starting to grow algae it had been flooding for so long,” said resident Craig Stevens.
Water could be seen bubbling from a crack beneath the sidewalk on Frier Drive early Wednesday morning before city contractors finally fixed the problem just before noon.
Richard Sampson, a neighbor, says he watched crews for a while until they finally came over to the door.
“They said, 'we’re going to shut the water off.' I said, 'fine, whatever you have to do, just do it,'” he said.
Residents say they first spotted the leak back on August 3 — exactly two weeks ago.
“It was coming up through a crack in the cement there,” Stevens said.
He and several others called the city about the leak but couldn’t get anyone immediately out to fix it.
“What they told me is they had bigger issues to take care of first,” Stevens said.
Meanwhile, the water continued to gush and flow for a block down the street, ponding before flowing down a storm drain.
“I would’ve liked to have it going into my yard,” Stevens said with a laugh. “Anything to save water,” he said.
“It was probably more than a gallon per minute, and that’s 24 hours a day for 14 days or so,” Stevens said, disappointed that so much valuable water was being wasted at a time when the state is seeing a shortage and people are trying to conserve.
“It was a waste of water yes, constantly 24 hours a day flowing down the street,” he said.
When crews finally responded Wednesday, it took around five hours to stop the leak.
“They did a terrific job. It didn’t take them that long and I have water going again,” Sampson said.
The City Of Phoenix sending this statement to ABC15 about its response to the leak:
“The City of Phoenix has over 7,000 miles of water mains. In addition, the City has 440,000 water service lines for residential customers. These lines run from the water main in the street to the customer’s meter. Phoenix Water provides more than 110 billion gallons of water to 1.7 million residents annually. It’s a large system, and we work as quickly as we can to repair the leaks as they’re reported. Our staff responds to all leaks the same day they are reported to verify and prioritize the leak. The leak located at 1322 W. Frier Dr. was evaluated and categorized as a lower priority. The work was completed by a contractor today. Our staff will follow up with the contractor to ensure the work was completed to City standards. Our repair crews must prioritize larger and more urgent leaks that can pose a threat to public health, property, and safety. While our crews are working 24/7/365, this can cause delays in responding to more minor leaks on service lines. It is the City’s goal to repair all leaks and breaks in a safe and timely manner while also trying to minimize water losses and impacts on our residents.”
