An Erie County neighborhood promised new pipes after a series of water main breaks last month will now have to wait even longer for the project to be completed.
"It just looks like a war zone here...and nothing is being finished."
Laura Grenzebach and her family live on East Overlook Drive in Clarence.
Channel 2 shot video of her flooded front yard about a month ago, after residents in that neighborhood alerted 2 On Your Side to a series of water main breaks which interrupted water service to dozens of home, off and on, for 3 days.
4 weeks later, there is no longer visible standing water on Grenzebach's property, since the water main has been fixed. But she says she and her neighbors have many reasons to still be worried.
"Every house is still connected to the old water line." explains Grenzebach. "We've had 5 breaks, right here, in our front yard. So it's just a matter of time before it breaks here or somewhere else."
On December 15, 2017, ECWA Board of Commissioners approved an emergency contract to replace 1,500 feet of aging water main pipe under East Overlook Drive, before Christmas.
Almost one month later to the day, Channel 2 gets a picture from a concerned resident, showing a number of pipes still not in the ground being carried away on a truck.
Erie County Water Authority spokesperson, Sean Dwyer, tells 2 On Your Side only about 1,200 feet of new pipe had been laid because that's ultimately all they had the money for.
Dwyer also confirmed that the new pipes were laid several weeks ago and connected to the old main, but the water hasn't been rerouted yet. We're told it should be another week before that happens.
2 On Your Side asked to speak directly to the executive engineer on the project, but we're told he was busy.
According to Dwyer, work to replace all the old pipes on East Overlook Drive could pick back up again in the spring. But there's no guarantee.
Several residents living on East Overlook tell me they've had zero communication from the Erie County Water Authority, since December.
A number of them admit they've been drinking bottled water instead of tap for a month now.
Dwyer assures Channel 2 that the water is safe to drink.
As to why they didn't communicate this to residents, he says they only notify people that the water is safe to drink when there has been a boil water advisory issued not after a water main break has been fixed.