  Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1905 Registered: 11-2003 |
http://tinyurl.com/2wj4qb quote: I post this partly because I've seen this myself in several homes in my area. We have gotten the water department to shut off the water, but it takes longer than it should, and I know of one that is gushing right now as I type. Granted, the root of the problem is all of the foreclosures, mostly caused by the subprime lending mess, but the water department needs to make this a priority. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1736 Registered: 10-2006 |
That's because it is the property owners problem, and has little to do with the city water dept. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1737 Registered: 10-2006 |
Don't worry, those properties will prob. get some hefty water bills. | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 592 Registered: 11-2006 |
damn. detroit is falling apart | ||
Granmontrules Member Username: Granmontrules Post Number: 176 Registered: 01-2007 |
The sky is falling yet again. Detroit is awful. Run to the burbs. Some pipes are busted. | ||
Detroithabitater Member Username: Detroithabitater Post Number: 40 Registered: 10-2006 |
There was one on lakepoint street on the east side that ran for over a year. Good thing I converted to a low-flow showerhead! | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 139 Registered: 03-2005 |
I saw the TV report and found myself wondering: How many of these "busted pipes" are actually "missing pipes" taken by copper scrappers? | ||
Toolbox Member Username: Toolbox Post Number: 1106 Registered: 10-2003 |
Get/make a street key and shut it off at the stop box yourself. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1907 Registered: 11-2003 |
Not a bad idea, toolbox.  | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1908 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote: Not sure if you were being sarcastic here, but it's the water dept's problem, because the breaks being talked about are before the shutoff inside the house, so the property owner can't shut it off, only the city can at the street. quote: From what I've seen, I'd guess maybe half are due to copper scrappers, the other half are due to freezing & thawing in a vacant home without heat. I don't see what other explanations there might be, except maybe vandalism. | ||
6nois Member Username: 6nois Post Number: 516 Registered: 11-2006 |
I always thought once inside your property line the problem is yours. There has been a leak for about the last 9 months at Florence and Livernois, city workers even stopped to look at it last spring but its still leaking. Those type of leaks should be fixed quickly. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 2717 Registered: 10-2003 |
I think as soon as the pipe comes off the main branch at the street, it is your responsibility. A friend recently had to replace the pipe coming off the street line, and it all came out of their pocket. | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 183 Registered: 12-2004 |
Since a lot of homes in the area are bank owned, a lot of problems can go unnoticed for a long time. Here is a photo I took today of the basement of a bank owned house I am trying to sell for those of you that have never seen a flooded basement before.  | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 203 Registered: 07-2007 |
Diehard - drain pipes are cast iron, not copper. backup usually due to Shit in the sewer systems. | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 595 Registered: 11-2006 |
good luck selling that puppy, sasquatch. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1909 Registered: 11-2003 |
Lefty, all of the vacant home floodings I've seen (and all the ones in the news story) are from broken water pipes, not sewer backups. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1910 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote: quote: Good question. I think that may be true as far as the fact that the property owner has to pay for any replacement of the line coming off the main branch. But does that mean that a property owner is free to shut off the line at the street themselves? (Reminds me of the time a plumber fixing something near the meter (in my house, not in Detroit) broke off the pipe coming from the wall and had to run out to the street to shut off the main...) So if you can just do it yourself, this pretty much invalidates the whole point of the wxyz news story. Tell the realtor to hire a damn plumber to take care of the problem. | ||
Track75 Member Username: Track75 Post Number: 2597 Registered: 10-2003 |
Another way water gets in the basement of some homes is through the sump. The bank may turn off the electricity, the sump pump doesn't run and water seeks its own level. I saw a house with a flooded basement due to clogged gutters. The rain overflowed the gutter and spilled onto the driveway. The driveway sloped toward the house, where a broken basement window let the basement fill up. Mold city. | ||
Davetroit Member Username: Davetroit Post Number: 25 Registered: 03-2007 |
This problem goes beyond the scope of foreclosures and scrappers. I know of situations where the city was directly responsible for massive leakage and waste. One resulted from the demolition of an abandoned house on the West side. They broke the line in from the street during demolition, causing a large pool to form where the water was perking up right out of the ground. Solution - throw up some orange construction barricades and some caution tape. Nothing was done after repeated complaints from neighbors. I had some involvement with a commercial building just across Cheyenne from the leak. The building was mostly sub-grade, and began to experience consistent leaking thru the foundation from the side closest to the leak. Coincidence? I don't think so - all that water had to go somewhere. I also heard that other homeowners in the area began to get leaks in their basements. I was told that the problem persisted for 3 YEARS. Didn't get fixed until a lawsuit was threatened. It directly resulted in a $80,000 reduction in the sale price of the commercial building. If Channel 7's calculation was correct, then this was a waste of MILLIONS of gallons, and property damage. So no, it does not mean the sky is falling / run for the burbs, but does make you wonder how much this is going on where the city is responsible, and the degree of waste. Detroit municipal spring water does not sound that appealing either.... | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1917 Registered: 11-2003 |
One update... I called DWSD to report a vacant home address that had a burst main water pipe in the basement, to have them shut it off at the street. They put it on their list, we'll see how long it takes. I did ask them whether they minded if a property owner/plumber shut off the water themselves at the street. They said the only issue is that the property would still be billed for water usage if the city didn't shut it off (sort of makes sense). In the case of a neighbor wanting to shut off water at a nearby bank-owned home, this sounds like a non-problem. Or, you could shut it off yourself at the street just to get the water to stop, and then notify the city to do the "real" shutoff (a few weeks later or whenever), so that the billing stops. | ||
Ferntruth Member Username: Ferntruth Post Number: 165 Registered: 11-2006 |
"The sky is falling yet again. Detroit is awful. Run to the burbs. Some pipes are busted." I think we can assume that those who think Detroit is awful do not feel that way because "some pipes are busted". I'm impressed by how you can simply dismiss the WASTE OF MILLIONS OF GALLONS of water as anti-Detroit bashing. Just for the sake of clarity, is there ANY issue related to Detroit that we can comment on without you trying to sweep it aside as Detroit bashing? | ||
Frumoasa Member Username: Frumoasa Post Number: 69 Registered: 03-2007 |
Most houses that are repossessed are winterized rather quickly in my experience, although there are always some that still have the power or water on and that can create problems. In my personal experience, the vacant commercial building at the end of my street had the water meter and piping stolen and that caused the water waste that actually ran down my street for weeks. The facility was once a hospital laundry so it was very copper rich for these "miners" and they tore the place up. My husband is a plumber and called the water department without delay as soon as we got back from Europe and saw the problem. The city first said they could not find the street shutoff, then they said it would be put on the list, but the third time was the charm for us, they came out the day after the third call and shut it off and we have not had any problems since. It is a shame that so many gallons of potable water need to go to waste before something can get fixed. | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 1353 Registered: 01-2006 |
Seriously: I have had lousy water pressure, in my house on the NW side, for several days, now. Makes me wonder if there is a connection... | ||
Softailrider Member Username: Softailrider Post Number: 68 Registered: 02-2007 |
Track 75......... ( wish I knew how to quote on this thing ) I've been in houses all over the city every day of the week for almost 30 years and I've seen VERY few houses in Detroit with sump pumps . Newer construction in the burbs yes , In the city , hardly any . |
