BILLINGS — Residents of a Billings Heights neighborhood were surprised to see water rushing down their streets for nearly a day after a contractor struck a water line during fiber-optic installation.
The break occurred near Agate Avenue on Thursday afternoon, and water continued flowing down Shamrock Lane toward Emerald Drive overnight and into Friday. Residents said the water had stopped running by Friday evening.
Jeff Essmann, president of the board of directors for the County Water District of Billings Heights, told MTN in a phone interview that a fiber-optic contractor pierced a line during installation, resulting in water loss from district facilities.
The district had not yet determined how much water was lost.
Essmann said the incident should not directly affect residents’ water bills. The district purchases its water from the city of Billings and charges customers based on their published rates and individual consumption.
Water lost through breaks, faulty meters or other unmeasured sources is considered nonrevenue water, Essmann said.
“There’s no special billing for that,” he said.
Although the break did not cause major disruptions for residents, the steady flow of water down the street raised concerns about how long the leak would continue. Resident Sam Vogel said he had noticed contractors working near his property for several days before the break occurred. Vogel said the main effect on his household had been a change in water pressure.
“Nothing’s really affected us other than the water pressure being different,” Vogel said. “So other than that, it doesn’t bother me ... I just hope it gets fixed soon.”
Doug Mitchell, who also lives near Agate Avenue, also noticed a drop in water pressure.
“I’m sort of amazed that we actually have water pressure in our houses still, and it’s about two-thirds of what normal would be,” Mitchell said. “So at least we’re able to take care of ourselves, I guess.”
Mitchell said he hopes the incident will not lead to higher water bills.
“I sure hope it doesn’t go up any,” he said. “It seems to be high enough already.”
The district had not provided an estimate of the total water lost or a final accounting of the incident at the time of the interview. Essmann said crews were working to repair the line and stop the water loss as soon as possible.
