TULSA, Okla. — Residents in the Florence Park South neighborhood told us they don't believe Tulsa's Water Department hears their concerns about a tremendous amount of city drinking water gushing down a storm drain.
Resident Brett Long told 2 News his neighbors have two simple questions they want answered.
"How long has this been going on, how much water is being wasted?," Long asked.
A quick listen and look lets you see the source of their concern.
Water is rushing out of a pipe and into a storm drain on Florence Place.
Deputy Director Matt Vaughn with Tulsa's Water & Sewer Department told 2 News the water comes from a leak on a 24 inch pipeline under 21st Street between Harvard and Yale.
"“The water that's leaking from that pipe is draining underground and going downhill toward a storm sewer that eventually flows through the neighborhood," he said. "Then the neighbors can see the continuous flow of water that is happening.”
Residents of the neighborhood tell 2 News they've spent almost a decade asking the city to make repair so water isn't wasted.
In that time, they feel they have been ignored, given inaccurate information such as the water isn't city water it's storm water. They also said that they were told the issue has been fixed.
It hasn't.
To prove it is city water and not storm runoff, Brett Long had an independent lab test it at his own expense.
He first noticed the sound of rushing water coming from the storm drain on his daily walks. Neighbors explained it's an ongoing issue and showed him a letter from 2015 one of them got from the City stating because the water is underground repairs to are a low priority.
Vaughn says the city's water crews have made at least four repairs in the past 18 months at a cost of $180,000. However, the flow into the storm drain doesn't appear any different in May than it did when we first did a story in January about the issue.
Problem Solvers
WASTING WATER?: Tulsa man says city drinking water is dumping into storm drain
"It's very disappointing to deal with a city department that is so unresponsive multiple times," said Long. "City folks have told me we will follow up with you. Never in over a year did anybody with the city after agreeing that they would follow up with me."
After our first story aired, the City's public information office said the City's "leak detection office would investigate and provide updates when more information is available."
But, neither the residents nor 2 News heard back from them.
On May 1, Vaughn told 2 News during repairs his department estimated 1,000 gallons per minute is pouring into the storm drain.
1,000 gallones times the 1440 minutes in a day adds up - just look at the calulator.
2 News asked how much homeowners pay for 1,000 gallons of water? Residential customers pay $4.44, but the city told 2 News since none of this water goes through a resident's meter it considers its cost at 25 cents per 1,000 gallons.
Vaughn also confirmed that nearly a decade after telling one resident it considers this a low priority repair, the same still holds true. It is because to do it would be a costly repair, requiring tearing up 21st Street to replace the old 24-inch pipe that is nearing the end of its lifespan. That's not likely to happen until at least 2025, he said.
Vaughn also stressed that the city isn't concerned about making repairs because the leaks are not affecting anything above ground and the water lost is considered part of the 15 to 20% of the water it produces each year, but isn't paid for. For example, water lost to leaks and water used to fight fires would not be billed.
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