Op-Ed: Water Pipe Breach - Homeowners Left High and Dry

Homeowners beware--if an underground water pipe on your property develops a leak, there is no support for you. Neither the County nor your water company will come to your rescue with information on next steps or repair/replacement approaches. Nor will anyone give you an idea of the range of costs, or a vetted list of contractors who are available to perform the required work. Most distressing of all, no one will turn off the water flowing to the breached pipe and provide a temporary pipe system to ensure that your home continues to have a fresh water supply. No, the leak continues, the water costs soar into the thousands of dollars, and clueless you are left to find a contractor to make the nightmare stop. You are left high and dry to figure out what has to be done, how much it will cost, and all the while, thousands of gallons of water are being wasted.

As a former member of the Orangetown Environmental Committee, the Conservation Committee of the Rockland County Task Force on Water Resources Management, and a person currently going through this dreaded scenario, it is clear to me that both county government and the water companies must address this gaping hole in water conservation. Additionally, they must provide homeowners with emergency assistance in order to minimize the financial impact that underground water leaks have on them.

Rockland County needs an Emergency Water Response Team that will take immediate action upon diagnosis of a breached pipe on private property. The Team would engage with the home owner, facilitate work permits, provide the names of three available contractors that have proven track records, and that optimally, have gone through a vetting process. The Team would also provide the homeowner with a description of the procedures used to address underground pipe leaks, and estimates of the costs for each. Lastly, it would coordinate the installation of a temporary water line to replace the damaged one.

Additionally, Rockland's residents deserve an Automated Water Alert System, implemented by the water companies. The system would automatically notify ratepayers by phone, within one week of large spikes in water consumption rates, on accounts with at least one year's worth of usage data. This would allow for the early detection of a breach and minimize water loss. While our county's major water supplier now provides meters that allow ratepayers to check their water consumption online, this method is insufficient to mitigate water loss and the financial impact of thousands of gallons of water going through a breached pipe for weeks until an anomaly is noted.

While you consider the above, I would like to point out that in the event of a fire, you can call 911, and the local fire department will be there in five minutes to put it out. There is no distinction made based on the location of the structure on fire. If, however, there is a pipe breach, the water company will seek to determine the location of the leak. If it is on private property, it is then the property owner's problem and the water company leaves. There is no one to call for immediate assistance, even though that breach may result in a sink hole, insufficient pressure at a hydrant during a fire, weakening of the structure of a home resulting in its possible total loss, and an ensuing reduction in home values around it.

So, in conclusion, I ask you to take action: demand that both our county government and local water companies minimize water loss and expense to property owners during incidents of pipe breaches on private property. Homeowners deserve an Emergency Water Response Team that will provide them with the attention, guidance, and assistance that they need. They also deserve an Automated Water Alert System that will let them know of a possible pipe breach within seven days. An underground pipe break is an emergency situation. Neither you nor I should be left high and dry when it happens.