This summer there have been a high number of water leaks in Wichita.
One leak in particular in the 1700 block of south St. Clair has one viewer upset. Martha Petersen says the leak started more than a week and a half ago from a fire hydrant on St. Clair street. During that time water was been squirting out of the ground.
"Probably three-quarters of a block is under water right in front of our house," says Petersen. "It is almost covering the entire street, the water stretches to almost the middle of the street and extends three-fourths of the way down the block."
For the last week and a half Petersen say no one has done anything about it.
"I have called the water department, we've called them every day since this happened and made a report about it, yet no one has come out here to do anything about it yet. Our biggest concern right now is we don't want to have the West Nile problems. We don't want this to become like a breeding ground for mosquitoes because standing water is obviously the number one place for that to happen."
FactFinder 12 contacted officials from the Wichita Water Department. they tell us they prioritize each leak and fix the highest priority ones first.
"We make sure that those leaks that put people out of service, give people low water pressure, or cause damage to the street or adjoining property that we get those right away." Says Alan King the Director of Public Works.
They are aware of the one on St. Clair Street. They consider it to be less of a priority than others.
"It may just be a little while to fix the lower priority leaks and we ask for folks to be patient." King says.
Another concern Petersen has was that she would have to pay for all the water being lost. The city tells us that's not the case since the water isn't going through her meter. As for the excess water, King says that the amount of water we lose does represent a cost but the way that they're approaching their maintenance helps to offset that loss.
