City: 50,000 people experienced leaks
Houston Public Works says quarter of water customers hit during freeze
The city on Tuesday estimated that a quarter of all Houston water customers experienced a leak during the winter storm last month, a higher number than offered previously but one that some experts say likely still does not account for the full extent of the damage.
Houston Public Works, which oversees the city’s water system, said it used water meter readings to come up with the new figure. The department says roughly 50,000 single-family residential users had no constant flow, indicating a leak, along with 400 multifamily residential customers.
Public Works and the mayor’s office did not respond to requests for more information about how officials generated the estimate.
Previously available data had been limited to 311 complaints, a statistic the city said did not represent the true breadth of the problem due to the number of people that shut off their water and sought or made repairs without alerting the city. The city received 11,000 calls for water service during and after the freeze, which included burst pipes, water main breaks and fire hydrant issues. Public Works Director
Carol Haddock has said only a few hundred of the calls reported water main breaks.
Harris County Engineer John Blount previously estimated about 55,000 homes in unincorporated areas likely had pipe damage. He said Tuesday the county is sticking to that estimate, which equates to about 21 percent of homes built before 2000.
The number “is close to the city’s quarter, understanding that they have an older housing stock with pipes more likely to break due to construction materials and methods,” Blount said.
Haddock has said the true toll will not be known for weeks, when the city can use permit applications for repairs and other data to come up with more reliable figures.
Chato Woodard, business agent and marketing director for Plumbers Local Union #68, said the damage likely exceeds the city’s estimate.
“I would say it’s north of a quarter,” Woodard said. “Easily 35 percent.”
He also noted each of the multifamily apartments the city is counting can affect hundreds of residents. For example, he said, one of the union’s contractors was at an apartment complex Monday near Antoine and De Soto in northwest Houston that was enduring its 12th consecutive day without water due to burst pipes. While they were conducting repairs, one resident was moving out.
“They were so angry,” Woodard said. “The residents were getting fed up.”
Andy Teas, vice president of public affairs for the Houston Apartment Association, called the city’s estimate “astounding.”
“I know our industry was in 24/7 repair mode after the freeze trying to get pipes fixed,” he said.
All of the association’s properties have had water service restored by now, although a few still are without hot water, according to Teas. That is because they are waiting on hard-to-find boiler parts. Fire sprinkler systems, which require plumbers with special licenses, still are being repaired, as well, Teas said.
The volume of leaks has strained plumbers and led to supply shortages as homeowners and property managers continue to repair the damage.
The leaks and pipe damage have had long-lasting consequences for some. An entire neighborhood in Fifth Ward still was without water Thursday, an issue attributed to burst private pipes that had yet to be repaired.
Samantha Lopez, 29, has been helping her parents, both in their 60s, deal with broken pipes in their East Houston home. It started with a pipe in the garage, which they quickly repaired. Then the kitchen sink began leaking. Then, last Monday, the ceiling collapsed, bringing hot water down with it.
“It’s been one thing after another, trying to recover and get back to normalcy,” Lopez said.
Facing their biggest challenge, Lopez said she called in a “hail Mary.” She used Instagram to message the Relief Gang, a grassroots recovery group organized by rapper Trae tha Truth. She messaged DJ Mr. Rogers, another organizer with the group. He responded and linked her to a plumber to help repair the ceiling pipes for free.
“It’s like, calling a radio station and hoping you’re caller number nine,” Lopez recalled. “I felt like I was caller number nine.”
The plumber, Riz Giwa, and other members of the group stopped by Tuesday to check on their progress. Lopez was emotional in describing how much their help meant.
“I felt stretched thin, but, of course, I wanted to help my family,” she said. “Some people don’t help like that. It’s appreciated for sure because not everybody can afford to get those kinds of repairs done.”
The city and county also have launched a relief fund to help residents pay to repair pipes and other damage. The fund is up to more than $7 million, and the first emergency grants are going to nonprofit partners this week.
The city recommends those who need help text HOUSTON-FREEZE (or HOUSTONAYUDA for Spanish) to 89821 for notifications and fill out a community needs assessment at www.connectivesurvey.org.
People can donate to the fund at winterstormrelieffund.org.