ABC13 received a call to the newsroom Thursday morning when Angela Reed said water was entering her home from a main tank in the East Little York neighborhood.
“At first, I called the city. I heard the sound of water this morning and I guessed, ‘It’s raining.’ I looked out into the backyard, “It didn’t rain there,” Reed said. “So I looked out and saw the bug running up, inside the house. I mean, hit the house, hit the house.”
Reed said what started as a leak in section 6210 of Moss Oaks Drive erupted into a geyser around 5 a.m. Thursday.
At home, ABC13 reporter Courtney Fischer got an in-depth look inside the flood. Courtney was living at Reed’s house when the water collapsed on the roof during the 7 a.m. Witness Bulletin streaming the news. You can check out her report in the video player above.
“I called them back.” Okay, my house is flooded right now,” said Reed.
Reed said the city said someone would be sent at 8 a.m.
“But, my house is flooded. I need someone to turn off the water,” she told the city.
Edward McFarland, the neighbor across the street from where the main water leak occurred, said Monday he called public agencies to report a minor leak at the time.
He said the city sent a team to check his meter, but did nothing about the leak. He said he called them back on Wednesday to let them know it was still leaking.
The city confirmed to ABC13 that crews tested the leak on Monday, but “decided it was not an emergency leak.”
When something is deemed non-urgent, it can take several days for it to be fixed. Although a home is currently flooded, the city considers the major incident an urgent repair.
Now, three days from the first call, a house has flooded while Texas prepares to freeze.
“What I told them this morning, when I called them this morning,” I would think. An emergency is an emergency. Someone’s got to be here right now,” McFarland said. “It’s as simple as that. There should be someone here by now.”
Inside Reed’s home, water wet carpets in two bedrooms. Water stays on the roof for hours.
According to public works in Houston, the city generally does not pay for damages to homes unless they are caused directly by a worker.
Reed can file a claim through the city of Houston to see if anything can be done.
The crew said the repair was completed just after 11am
RELATED: Neighbor says collision with fire hydrant caused main breakage in northwest Houston
Copyright © 2022 KTRK-TV. Copyright Registered.
