Another Kansas city neighborhood went without water Tuesday as crews rushed to fix a water main break. It's at least the fourth break in the city in less than two days.
Randy Busch has lived at 39th and Denver nearly his whole life. When he got home from work Tuesday, he found a river running past his house and water flowing into his basement.
"Not again," he said.
The water main in front of his home busted, flooding his property.
"I wish it didn't [break], but what can you do?" he said.
He told us the same thing happened in the same spot in July 2012.
The mains involved in Monday's breaks were all from the early 1900s. One was at 4800 Wyoming, another at 4800 State Line. Both erupted about the same time a main broke open on Mercier Street near the plaza, flooding several homes.
"Probably at least $1,000 in damage," said John Kline, whose home was flooded because of the main break.
We reached out to KC Water to try to find out what's causing all the recent main breaks. A spokesperson told us these incidents aren't out of the ordinary.
"At this point, the new main breaks for the calendar year 2017 are about 37 percent behind an average year," said the spokesperson.
In fact, KC Water says there have been 61 other water main breaks in the city so far just this month. The ten year average for June in KC is 75 breaks; the June record is 131.
The water company says while the age of the pipes plays a factor, the summer heat expands the pipes, and that's usually a factor in the breaks as well.
The city administrator has sent out insurance information to homes in the area. The optional insurance is through Service Line Warranties of America.
The homeowner is responsible for any service line that breaks on their property. However, the city must repair and pay for any water main that breaks under a street adjacent to homes. If anyone experiences damage to their home from a water main break they can file a claim with the city here.
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