'We know the problem': Houston Mayor John Whitmire responds to more than 1,000 active water leaks

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- With more than 1,000 active water main leaks in the city, Houston Mayor John Whitmire says his office is aware of the problem and they are "on top of it."

The mayor, who took office just over a year ago, said the leaks are a high priority for his office both because of the quality of life issue for Houstonians and the wasted water. He said there have been years of neglect to maintenance and repairs.

In November, Whitmire appointed Randy Macchi to lead Houston Public Works. He said he frequently calls the director personally to let him know about leaks. He said after his calls, they were fixed.

He said there are both too many leaks and not enough HPW employees to fix them.

"I'm convinced there are people in public works that are probably pencil pushers," Whitmire said. "We need to get them out and fix these broken water mains. So it's going to take time, but we're going to do it."

Tatum Stasney works in Upper Kirby near a leak that has been active for three weeks. She said she had reported it to 311. Records with the city show that others have reported it as well.

"Every day I drive by, I'm like, 'The amount of water that's just flowing into the drainage system is remarkable,'" Stasney said.

She said the area on Richmond near Buffalo Speedway floods when it rains. With the added few inches of water from the leak, she said she and her coworkers are concerned their cars will get stuck if it rains. During this week's storm, they left work early to avoid an issue.

When Stasney learned about the number of active leaks in the city, she said, "It makes me concerned for this leak. Even though the request has been put in, what is it on the priority list and when will it be resolved?"

Across town in Kashmere Gardens, Reginald Cooper has a leak outside his home on the feeder road of the North Loop.

The 311 records show it was first reported at the beginning of January, and continues to bubble out of the ground.

"They came out and looked at it several times, but nothing has happened since they've been out to look at it," Cooper said.

"It's certainly a goal to try to get to where we're in front of the problem instead of reacting and doing interviews like this," Whitmire said when asked if he foresees a time that Houston Public Works is able to work proactively rather than reactively to leaks during his time in office.

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