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With hot and dry temperatures, water lines have busted across the City of Wichita. Each day, the city prioritizes what leaks to fix first.
FactFinder 12 recently asked questions about a fire hydrant leak that poured water for more than a week. Wichita Public Works Director Alan King shows us the numbers to explain why it took so long to fix and why other leaks were considered more important.
King says they first learned of the fire hydrant leak on St. Clair August 22nd. They went to look at it and determined it was losing six gallons of water per minute. That's equivalent to 8,640 gallons a day.
While that sounds like a lot of water, King says there were leaks that were far worse on August 22nd. The city fixed nine leaks on that day. For example, a main break on South Drury Lane was leaking 144,000 gallons per day. Another leak on North Norman was leaking 86,400 gallons per day.
King says when you see the numbers, it becomes clear that the nine the city fixed were much more significant than the one on St. Clair. Plus he says the one on St. Clair wasn't causing water loss or street issues for customers.
The fire hydrant on St. Clair was finally fixed August 31st. King says they worked their way down a priority list before finally getting to the hydrant.
Below is a look at some of the leaks the city did fix and how much water was lost. GPM means gallons per minute. GPD means gallons per day.
August 22nd
Leaks repaired that day, instead of hydrant
gpm
gpd
517 S Drury Lane
6" in the driveway FT
100
144,000
2428 W Rita
6" in the driveway
100
144,000
645 N Norman
4" in the driveway
60
86,400
Poplar & Douglas
2" in the street
20
28,800
1608 W Dallas
2" in the street
20
28,800
4336 E Bayley
2" in backyard
20
28,800
1226 S Bluffview
2"
20
28,800
4348 E Boston
2" in backyard
20
28,800
1032 S Terrace
2" in the backyard
20
28,800
August 23rd
Leaks repaired next day, instead of hydrant
gpm
gpd
11Th & Mead
12" in street FT
200
288,000
1205 N Williamsburg
8" in parking FT
140
201,600
Roseberry Ct & Roseberry St
8" in parking FT
140
201,600
1621 S Lulu
8" in street FT
140
201,600
117 N Poplar
2" in street FT
20
28,800
1 E Douglas
2" in drive
20
28,800
2008 S Poplar
2" in parking
20
28,800
1859 S Erie
2" in parking
20
28,800
August 27th
Leaks repaired August 27, in lieu of this one:
gpm
gpd
Clifton & Tierra
12" in ditch FT
200
288,000
1827 S Grove
8" in street
140
201,600
851 S Prairie Park Rd
6" in driveway
100
144,000
2505 N Plumthicket
4" in the parking
60
86,400
22nd & Waco
2" in the street
20
28,800
2819 E Ellen St
2" in the parking
20
28,800
837 N Wiley
2" in the parking
20
28,800
36 N Mission
2" in the parking
20
28,800