FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. – Caley Henry has watched as a puddle slowly grows in her front yard for two months now.
“We can’t cut our grass. We can’t let our dog out,” she said.
Water District Number 3 of Franklin County knows the puddle is there, but so far, it has not fixed it.
“We don’t have a timeline of when this will be fixed,” Henry said. “I’m afraid again that somewhere along the line, we’re going to be responsible for damage to our own property if they don’t get this taken care of.”
Henry said her husband first noticed the leak in late July while mowing the lawn. Since then, water has slowly been moving closer to their house.
After she noticed the leak, her bill has gone up about $15 a month. Her monthly usage in July and August is more than a thousand gallons above what it was in June.
“That’s a lot of money, especially when our sewer bill is averaged off of our water bill. So not only has our water bill gone up, our sewer bill has also gone up,” Henry said.
With no resolution, Henry wrote the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Water District Number 3 responded to the A.G.’s office and admitted it needs to fix the leak.
“There are leaks that pre-date and are more severe than the one located at this service address,” the district said in a statement.
FOX 2 News reached out to Water District 3 as well. They declined an on-camera interview but answered written questions. Local manager Tony Baretich said they have 16 district leaks on their list. Repairs are prioritized based on the date reported, severity, and how many customers are affected. He said he does not know when Henry’s leak will be fixed.
Baretich also said he does not think the leak is making her bill higher.
“Staff identified the leak approximately six feet before the meter, and there was not any water going through the meter at that time,” he wrote
“The bill isn’t reflecting what they are saying. We normally don’t have that high of a bill,” Henry said.
Henry is now reaching out to the county commission for help.
