Second Ward residents dealing with water leaks for nearly 2 years

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents in of the Second Ward are frustrated with ongoing water leaks on their street.

The first 311 report was made for leaks at the intersection of Everton and Preston in July of 2023. About 25 calls have been made since.

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There are two leaks at the intersection. One appears to be coming from a fire hydrant and is putting out a steady flow of water into the nearby drain. Across the street, there is a leak underground that has left pools of water in the grass and along the side of the street.

People who live in the area said it has rendered the sidewalks unusable from mud and standing water and caused a problem with mosquitos.

ABC13 reached out to Houston Public Works (HPW) and CenterPoint, who residents say is also doing work in the area, and within two hours, both had representatives at the site to assess the problem.

HPW said they have fixed the issue a number of times in the past. A spokeswoman said a thorough investigation will be done to determine why the leaks are happening. They believe their lines and hydrant are being hit, and that's what's causing the leaks.

Their crews were working to fix the leak near the hydrant by 4 p.m. Friday.

CenterPoint told ABC13 in a statement, "At this time we cannot make the necessary repairs requested by the customers until the water leak has been repaired by the city."

Crews are working to repave roads in the area and told ABC13 that they cannot repave the road in the area of Everton and Preston because of the leak.

311 data shows that water leaks are the most called in problem in the city. In the last 30 days, more than 3,900 calls were made about water leaks. The city reports fixing 80 percent of them within 10 days.

In a recent interview with Mayor John Whitmire, he told reporter Mycah Hatfield that the ongoing leaks throughout the city are a priority for his office. He said they are dealing with a large number of leaks and not enough HPW employees to fix them.

Mayor John Whitmire said the leaks are a high priority for his office both because of both the quality of life issue for Houstonians and the wasted water.

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