Midtown residents wait months for city to fix water leak reported in October

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In recent years, the City of Houston lost billions of gallons of water due to pipe leaks.

Officials attribute most of the leaks to old pipes, which they say are costly and arduous to replace.

This week, Houston's Mayor John Whitmire told ABC13 that he is in talks with the state about a potential plan that, if passed, may help fund the repairs.

Thursday, at the request of residents, ABC13 visited a water leak at Austin and Hadley Streets in Midtown. Records show it was first reported to the city in October.

A spokesperson for Houston Public Works told ABC13 that the department is slated to fix the leak on Jan. 14, approximately eleven weeks after they were first notified of its existence.

The spokesperson explained that the department prioritizes leaks by size and site impact. For example, leaks impacting water at schools and emergency facilities take priority.

"This is wasting water all the time," Tian Chen, who lives in front of the Midtown leak, said.

Over the past two years, the city has lost 36 billion gallons of water to such leaks. That is enough water to supply the entire City of Fort Worth for a year.

"That's incredible, that's really terrible to hear that," Chen said.

Whitmire said pipe upgrades, which would cut down on leaks, and other necessary water infrastructure projects may soon be funded, in part, through a deal with a state. He said he has been speaking with state officials about potentially re-selling the City of Houston water to drier municipalities and using the profits.

"Collaboration has been a key theme of Mayor Whitmire's administration, and we look forward to working with our state partners during the upcoming Texas Legislative session to address many needs, including our municipal water utility system," his office said in a statement.

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