From Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood to the suburbs in Independence, water main breaks have been bursting everywhere in this bitter blast.
While crews race against time to fix almost a dozen major water main breaks, some people are feeling left out.
Cleveland resident Mark Cox has been dealing with a water main break and broken fire hydrant outside his house for three days now.
“All this water is really getting on my nerves,” said Cox. “Our problem is you can't walk out the front. You got the mailman, you got all the other people, and it's very slippery outside.”
Cox said he made his first call to the Cleveland Water Department on Wednesday, but crews have yet to come out and fix the problem.
“When I first called, they made it seem like they were coming soon as possible,” said Cox.
Kim Thompson with the Cleveland Water Department said 22 crews are out working double shifts to fix all the water main breaks.
Thompson's crews prioritize calls by the leak's size, how many are affected, among other factors.
“Do people have water? Where is it at? Are there schools? Hospitals? Anything like that involved,” said Thompson.
ThoPriority one leaks are usually on the top of the list with four being the lowest, he said.
As for Mark Cox's house, he said it was originally listed as priority two, but has been moved up to priority one on Friday.
“When they looked at it at first, it was running along the curb. Now it's iced up and starting to go out,” said Thompson.
He said crews should be able to fix the water main in his neighborhood either later Friday night or on Saturday. He added that his crews are making their best effort.
“Be patient, and we'll get to you,” he said.
At one point, Cleveland Water reports having 117 leaks with 11 of them being on their high priority list. Now, the crews are down to about 70 leaks.
