South Congress business owner frustrated by repeated water main breaks

August 8, 2026 - 01:08

A business owner on South Congress Avenue is fed up after another water main break flooded the street outside his store, forcing him to close for hours and scaring off customers. This is not the first time, and he says it will not be the last unless the city steps up.

The latest break happened early Tuesday morning, sending water gushing across the pavement near his shop. Crews arrived within the hour, but the mess took most of the day to clean up. The owner, who asked not to be named, says he lost a full day of sales. "Every time this happens, people just stay away. They see cones and trucks, and they assume we are closed," he said. "I have to put out signs, call regulars, and hope they come back. It is exhausting."

He counts at least four breaks on the same stretch in the past two years. Each one means shut-off valves, muddy sidewalks, and a repair crew digging up the same patch of ground. He says the city has patched the pipe before, but the problem keeps coming back.

City officials say they are aware of the issue and have scheduled a full replacement of the aging line in the next few months. But the owner is skeptical. "They told me that last year," he said. "Meanwhile, I am the one paying the price every time the ground shakes and the water starts pouring."

For now, he is doing what he can to stay open, but he worries that one more break could push him to the edge. He wants the city to treat this as an emergency, not a routine repair.