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Houston neighborhood water pipe ruptured
Residents in a southwest Houston neighborhood have waited almost a week for the city to fix a ruptured water line that's gushing gallons of precious water every minute while the City is mandating all Houstonians to conserve water beginning Sunday. FOX 26's Randy Wallace spoke to residents to learn more.
HOUSTON - "Five days since Saturday, and it's been flowing this bad the entire time," said resident Spencer Harris.
If your grass is turning brown and your plants are dying of thirst, watching the gusher in the 7600 block of Meadowvale makes you want to grab a bucket.
Residents say they reported it to 311 on Saturday, Aug. 19.
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The next day, resident Alex Hall says someone from the city came out and put yellow caution tape around the gusher.
"Not a single person has come out to take a look at it since," said Hall.
"In the middle of a drought, and they can't get a crew out here to tap something that's flowing Lord knows how much water," said Harris.
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On Sunday, the City of Houston will enter stage 2 of its drought contingency plan. Houstonians will only be allowed to water their yards on certain days between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The first violation is a written warning. But after that, residents face up to a $2,000 fine for each violation.
"It's ridiculous that they're not fixing a simple problem like this," said Hall.
He and other residents are watching enough water to fill pools, and keep lawns and plants alive in their neighborhood, literally going down the storm drain.
"I'm guessing five gallons per minute," Hall said.
On Thursday, one resident sent a letter to City Councilmember Tiffany Thomas. She told the resident it would take 10 to 14 days to get a crew out to stop the gusher.