If your neighbor calls you to tell you that there’s a problem with a broken water main in front of your home, you’d probably panic. However, if you learned that the city’s utility workers were already on scene working on the damage, you might feel just a tiny bit better about the situation.
Something similar happened to a homeowner in Beaumont, Texas, except that Tiffany LaRocca told KFDM that when she arrived, the crew that had been working on the burst pipe in front of her was MIA. And apparently they stayed that way for at least an hour while a torrent of water was fired directly at her property, flooding her home.
She took video footage of the water spout hitting her house as it was happening, documenting how the water entered her home through her chimney at one point, according to 12NewsNow.
However, things took a strange turn when the crew finally returned, and LaRocca confronted them about the flooding water. Wait until you hear about their excuse.
An Employee Told LaRocca They Had to Run Out for a Part
After waiting an hour for someone to return to the property, LaRocca said she approached the city employees to find out what was going on. “They said that they went to get a part,” she recalled to KFDM. “Whenever I asked, why would they leave this here? And I was told I was an inconvenience by the employee. So I was very upset that I had water going into my home.”
She didn’t get any additional help when she approached the leader of the crew. “No apologies. No. Not saying, hey, I’m sorry it took so long. Hey. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. You know, just you’re being an inconvenience to me,” she told the outlet.
The City is Investigating What Happened
Reporters reached out to Beaumont Water Utilities Director Mike Harris about LaRocca’s story, asking if he was aware of how the situation unfolded. “General foreman, and Cliff Jackson, who’s our operations manager. They did go on site. They did, assess the situation. Talk with the crew leader and also talk with the homeowner. We’re going to investigate into why the water was left spraying,” Harris told KFDM.
However, LaRocca is still waiting to hear whether or not the city will take care of the damage the broken water main did in the time it was left spraying on her home, which she estimated to be a couple of hours.
“We understand the concern this has caused and are working to determine exactly what occurred. Once we have all the facts we will address the matter appropriately,” the city said in a statement to the outlet.
Despite how things went down, it does sound like LaRocca did what she was supposed to do. One of the first things websites like Balkan Plumbing say you should do when you see a broken water main in your neighborhood involves calling your local water utility to let them know. Since the city was already aware of the issue, LaRocca didn’t have much else left to do, except document what was going on in case she needed proof if there was damage to her home. It seems like it was a smart call in this situation. Hopefully the repairs get sorted out soon, and LaRocca’s home gets fixed.