MEMPHIS, Tenn — Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW) President and CEO Doug McGowen appeared before the Memphis City Council’s MLGW Committee to update them on their response to the most recent round of winter weather.
McGowen said that his crews have responded to 81 water main breaks and all but 13 have been repaired. While he said he was pleased with their response, he added that the city needs to continue investing in upgrades to MLGW, because these cold winters aren’t going away.
And there are still plenty of Memphians without water. Among them are people living in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood near the University of Memphis, who said they're still dealing with in the aftermath of the winter storm.
“You could see water coming down people’s driveways, and that’s exactly what it was (from): burst pipes,” said William Turk, a neighborhood resident.
Turk said he's been without water for nearly a week thanks to a broken pipe.
“I’ll come out, I’ll cut the water on just for 10 minutes at the most (to use the bathroom or shower) because I got water - when I turn it on from the broken pipe - running all up under the house.” he said.
Turk said water is also leaking up under his yard.
He said that because his home and others in the neighborhood date back to at least the 1950s, they don't have modern insulation, making them more vulnerable to frozen and cracked pipes.
“I know three others (in the neighborhood), and there’s probably a lot more,” Turk said.
A neighbor said he knows of at least 13 other houses on nearby Goodman Circle that also have broken pipes.
McGowen said they have been notified of at least 4,000 calls for burst pipes at homes and businesses and expect there are even more.
“When temperatures get deeply cold, broken pipes are just a part of what happens,” he said. “We have to do our part to improve that.”
One way that Turk would like to see that happen is for MLGW to help more homeowners winterize their houses, especially for those that cannot afford it themselves.
“They raised our rates up, so they got the money,” he said.
Turk was complimentary of MLGW’s response to fix the recent round of water main breaks. He said he is currently going through the process of having MLGW help winterize his house through their Share the Pennies program, which provides grants to lower-income homeowners to make those kinds of repairs.