DETROIT (WXYZ) — An overnight water main break on Detroit's east-side has residents up in arms dealing with costly damage... and they say this is far from the first time.
Tiffany Pugh lives by Fairport Street and East State Fair Avenue where the break happened.
She told us her and her sons woke up around 4 a.m. thinking they heard heavy rain.
"And that’s when they discovered that the water was just cascading from this area here and it had filled up the street," said Pugh.
Pugh said she was forced to watch the flooding build for nearly five hours as she tried again and again to get a representative on the phone from the Detroit Water and Sewer Department.
By the time someone finally answered at 9 a.m., Pugh said her deep freezer, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and furnace were all ruined.
"The water had just been building and building and I believe that had we been able to get in touch with someone sooner then this damage would not have occurred," said Pugh.
She told us that nearly all her neighbors on Fairport Street and many on East State Fair Avenue now have flooded basements.
To add to frustration, many of the neighbors say this is far from the first time they've had this problem.
Pugh said, "For me, it’s probably happened about 5 or 6 times within, I would say, probably the last 6 to 8 years, and that’s just too many."
With flooding insurance costs being high many neighbors told us they have to pay out of pocket every time a break happens.
Jennifer Pugh who lives in the neighborhood told us, "I can’t afford for this to happen again, we're out of money."
The Detroit Water and Sewer department told us that three to five water main breaks happen every single day in the city and it's largely due to temperature changes which affect shifting pipes that are aging.
They issued the following statement regarding this particular break:
"The Detroit Water & Sewerage Department (DWSD) will repair the water main break on Fairport and East State Fair after other utilities are marked allowing our crews to safely dig underground to make the repair. We prioritize water main break repairs by first addressing the pipe breaks that cause temporary water service outages and those on major thoroughfares. We thank the residents for informing DWSD of this water main break as we rely on the public to report running or bubbling water on streets."
When asked how much she believes this break will cost her, Tiffany Pugh said around $10,000.
"When are they going to resolve the situation for good to where we no longer have to worry about this happening again?" said Pugh.
As of Sunday evening water has been turned off in the neighborhood.
We're told that a third party contractor needs to come out to repair the pipe, no one could provide a time estimate of when that would be.
