HOUSTON – Water gushing into the street has been an ongoing issue for Pete Salinas.
“Thirty days without nobody coming out here, its kind of frustrating,” Salinas said. “I jumped online and opened a ticket, they came out and looked at the gush and they said it depends on the size of the gush we’ll come out and let you know and they did come out a week later but they didn’t have parts to fix the gush so I haven’t seen them since then.”
Salinas is not the only one experiencing a water leak in front of their home. More than 1,700 water related reports are currently open throughout Houston. Officials said drought conditions have caused water main breaks, leaks and low water pressure across the city.
Salina said his water pressure has been low at times.
“It’s been up and down, we lose it, it comes back,” Salinas said.
Firefighters also experienced issues with water supply while battling a fire in east Downtown.
“The firefighters could not get the pressure needed,” said HPFFA President, Patrick “Marty” Lancton.
Firefighters drove blocks away to find enough water to put out the fire.
Public Works officials sent the following statement to KPRC 2:
“Safety is our top priority. We want to reassure residents that our Public Works and Fire Departments are true partners in public safety. Additionally, there is ample water pressure available to fight fires with the ability to boost pressure when needed. As we closely monitor water pressure during Stage Two of the Drought Contingency Plan, we are asking for the continued cooperation of Houstonians to conserve water and take other steps to prevent the loss of water. If usage is reduced by 10%, water pressure will increase system wide, as the City continues to repair water main breaks caused by drought conditions.”
“It is a pain that we have to do that but it adds to the frustration that the leak is here so how can we follow that when this is still going on,” Salinas said.