Water Leak Concern: Brought to City & Fixed

A concerned neighbor calls News 3, about a steady stream of water leaking on 32nd Street between Abercorn and Lincoln.

I went to check it out and talked to a neighbor who says the problem has been going on for weeks.

It’s a trickle and a stream down the street neighbors have been looking at for weeks.

“It started off as a hairline fracture about 6-7 weeks ago and a significant amount of water just kept increasing.  I called the city once about 5 weeks ago to let them know that there was a main break.  This is all the response I’ve got out of them,“ explains Tim Ludden, a 32nd Street neighbor.

But Tim Ludden, who lives on 32nd Street, wasn’t the only one to make a call.

Bret Bell, spokesman for the City of Savannah, says a call came in on the 16th, but that the area had to be assessed before repairs could be made.

While this has been leaking for weeks, Ludden say he hasn’t seen a reflection it in his water bill.  He has noticed when he takes a shower.  The water pressure is extremely low.  It sort of makes you wonder what would happen if there was a fire and firefighters had to hook up to the hydrant.  Would they have the pressure they needed to fight the fire effectively?

“It did not affect public safety in any way whatsoever.  It was obviously something that we hate to see.  We hate to waste water.  It’s an inconvenience to this neighborhood, they don’t want to see water on their streets, but from the public safety perspective, that was never threatened in any way,“ explains Bell.
   
Bell says the area was actually on the schedule to be fixed today.

The issue was a lateral pipe.  That’s a pipe that goes from the water main to one house.

Bell estimates that about 500 gallons of water went down the drain each day.

If you have a problem like this—the easiest and quickest way to have it fixed is by calling the city at 311.  They’ll give you a work order number and you can track the service as it’s being completed.