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Water Main Break Causes Headache for City and Neighbors, Aging Infrastructure to Blame
Water Main Break Causes Headache for City and Neighbors, Aging Infrastructure to Blame 2/20/13
Tatum Guinn
CBS 7 News Reporter
February 20, 2013
tguinn@cbs7.com
Big Spring - It's been a long night turned to day for city crews as they've worked to repair a water main break in Big Spring. After speaking with neighbors, we found they've had just as long of a night because they've had no running water since last night.
The water isn't erupting this evening after city crews worked nearly 24-hours to stop the flow. In that time, it turned the neighborhood on Baylor St. into a construction site.
"We were in the backyard, we heard a boom and we saw water coming over the house. It had just started to rain and we thought no way is that rain," one neighbor said.
A day and night without water left neighbors unwilling to speak to CBS 7 on camera, but they were all too willing to talk about the problem.
"My shingles on my roof were standing straight up from the pressure of the water. You can see it just blast the house," one neighbor said. "There's asphalt chunks all in my yard."
Johnny Womack with the city says water main breaks are happening left and right. He says an aging infrastructure is to blame.
"It's just a matter of time before the next one," he said.
Womack says they're working to fix the problem.
"As we keep going through the city and we look at where we're having the most breaks, that tells us where we need to be," he said
Womack and his crews will continue to race the clock and replace as many lines as they can before the next big break.
The city has set aside $500,000 to replace infrastructure. They tell CBS 7 that $500,000 will replace about a mile of pipe.