City of Houston experiences increase in active water leaks, officials say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- At a time when Houston neighbors are being asked to voluntarily conserve outdoor water usage, some are baffled to why there are so many leaks.

Despite a current drought, the grass is green at a southeast Houston home, but it's not because the owner is running his water.

It's because the city hasn't shut it off. More than a week ago, neighbors along the 9500 block of Misty Vale Lane reported a leak, but it continues to flow. It's not the only one.

City data shows the number one issue neighbors are complaining about is water leaks. Drive around and you can see why.

In fact, several leaks have been spotted from River Oaks, southwest Houston, and Montrose. The issues are doing more than spilling water.

Some leaks have lingered so long, mold is growing. "You can see green growing under the water," Paolo Passalo said. "It's been going on for a while."

Passalo called the city two weeks ago about the leak in the 3400 block of Bradford. He said Houston Public work crews visited, but the water continues to flow.

It's a problem he believes has made its way indoors.

"The water pressure is not like it used to be," Passalo explained. "I thought maybe because of the drought, but it only makes things worse."

Public works said dry conditions, increased water usages, and aging pipes have lead to an increase in water leaks. They say projects are underway to upgrade water lines to fix this. However, they still rely on neighbors to call 311 to report problems.

According to the 311 website, the number one call for service Houstonians are making right now are water leaks. We aren't sure how bad it is. We've asked public works for the number of leaks the city is dealing with over the past two days, and officials haven't been able to give ABC13 an answer.

We do know the city is asking people to conserve water. The city is currently under stage one of its conservation plan, which asked neighbors to voluntarily limit outdoor usage to two times a week.

"Do something," Passalo said. "This isn't something major, but nevertheless, it's less water into the mainline. It's just a lot of waste."

Despite the calls and the drought, the water continues to flow spilling thousands of gallons onto the road at a time when neighbors are being asked to voluntarily conserve water.

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