NewsLeak

The Bay City Commission in Michigan recently waived $3,800 sewer fees for the Van Buren Street Theater that was the result of a water leak from the past summer. The theater's hot water system relief valve had sprung a leak, releasing more than 380 cubic feet of water. The theater's water bills for July and August were a total of $3,800 more than normal due to the leak.

The Bay City Times reported city officials discovered the problem when the water that was leaking did not go back into the city's sewer system. Rather, the water just soaked into the dirt floor of the theater.

City Manager Robert Belleman told the news source that if a water leak that does not go back into the sewer system is discovered, the city typically refunds the resident or company the water bill for the affected months.

Sewer problems can increase bills and also cause health hazards. The Serasota Observer reported that a sewer leak on Gulfstream Avenue in Sarasota Bay created a pool of contaminated sewer water that traveled throughout the neighborhood and emptied 40,000 gallons of sewer water into the bay. Utility workers had to repair the leak and issue a health advisory warning for the neighborhood until the contaminated water was removed.

After days of water testing, the Sarasota County Health Department deemed the community safe, and the site of the leak has been sanitized, the source reported. The city also plans to replace the 20-inch forcemain that sprung the leak next year.  

Water crews in Denver, Colorado, recently restored running water to 49 homes on Bellaire Street after a 24-inch conduit sprung a leak. Denver Water crew members had to dig a large hole into the street at the corner of 13th Avenue and Bellaire, and worked overnight to repair the street after getting the water back on for residents.

The water was shut off after a leak was found in a joint connected to two water mains, causing water to pour into the street. The 78-year-old cast iron joint had cracked, and the workers replaced it with a more flexible and elastic substitute, the Denver Post reported. The pipe leak forced homeowners to purchase bottled water or collect water in buckets before it was shut off.

To help combat a rise in unsatisfied customers dealing with leaky pipes such as residents in Denver, city officials in Marysville, Ohio, will install a wireless water-meter-reading system to help save money and improve customer service. The Columbus Dispatch reported the system will cost $1.7 million, and is expected to save the city money in the long-term and is a more environmentally-friendly way of checking water meters.

The system requires each of the city's 6,990 accounts to install a small transmitter to read the water usage every few minutes. The data will then be sent wirelessly to the nearest water tower, which will direct the numbers to City Hall a few times a day, the source reported.