Homeowner's driveway becomes an eyesore after city water main break underground

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Residents say homes in the Warwick Estates neighborhood have experienced recurring water main breaks.

One homeowner filled out an open records request and found nearly 800 main occurrences in surrounding areas over the last decade.

"We're just all tired of it. There's been so many of these," said Marlene Simpson.

Simpson has lived in the Warwick Estates neighborhood for decades and says she's at her wits' end with water main breaks.

"The first one was the south side of my driveway rather than the north. The second one was an indoor slab leak, the third one is another city water main break under the driveway," Simpson said.

The water main break under Simpson's driveway happened last Wednesday, but other neighbors say the water woes date back years.

"We've talked to folks at the water trust, we've talked to our city council. We're more than anything trying to find out information and trying to work with the city to figure out what can we do looking forward to prevent it," Mark Falk said.

John Broom is another concerned resident, saying, "It's a mounting financial problem in many of these neighborhoods of Northwest Oklahoma City."

Broom took matters into his own hands, filling out an open records request with the City of Oklahoma City.

His findings show areas near North Memorial, South Britton, West Portland, and Hefner have seen a total of 791 main breaks since January 1, 2015.

"It's a growing problem. It's just getting worse," said Broom.

The Oklahoma City Utilities Department said the main break under Simpson's driveway has been repaired.

Simpson was initially looking at six to eight weeks for repairs to be complete.

However, a city worker called Simpson called late Wednesday afternoon, letting her know her driveway would be repaired sometime on Friday.

News 4 reached out to the City of Oklahoma City Utilities Department on Wednesday and they sent the following statement below:

We understand the concerns from residents in Warwick Estates and appreciate the opportunity to provide clarity about our water infrastructure and operations in that area.

Utilities customers can rest assured we not only have a corrective action plan in place — we have a clear understanding of what needs to be done, where the challenges are and how to solve them. The necessary funding is in place, and we are actively executing this work. However, with more than 4,000 miles of water lines across the city, even a well-funded, strategic plan takes time to implement due to the logistical realities of replacing aging infrastructure at this scale.

As mentioned previously to KFOR, each year a portion of our Utilities Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget is allocated to water line replacements. In the recent past, that budget has been roughly $10 million annually. However, moving into Fiscal Year 2026, which starts July 1, 2025, we are doubling that investment to approximately $20 million to accelerate our replacement plan. Based on the allocated budget, our engineering team evaluates line segments across Oklahoma City's 600+ square miles using a data-driven approach that considers a variety of risk and performance factors.

While over the past 10 years, we’ve responded to hundreds of main breaks, that is not uncommon for large (4k+ miles) water systems such as ours, especially considering the age of the underground infrastructure and highly corrosive soil within certain areas of the city.

Currently, we have a project under design that will replace a portion of an 8-inch water main along Greenwick Drive. This type of targeted project helps improve reliability in specific locations, but broader replacements in other sections of the neighborhood are not included in our planned capital improvements for the next two fiscal years. We anticipate the next opportunity for additional scheduled work to occur around July 2027. In the meantime, our crews will continue to respond promptly to breaks and leaks to maintain service and minimize disruption.

Some residents have expressed concern that our water main breaks may be causing slab leaks in homes. While we understand the frustration associated with any plumbing issues, it is highly unlikely that breaks in our public water mains are the source of slab leaks. These breaks typically occur in the street or public easements and are physically separated from private home plumbing systems.

However, we do want to acknowledge that high water pressure inside a home can contribute to slab leaks, particularly in older plumbing systems. The water pressure in Oklahoma City’s distribution system is generally consistent as it leaves our treatment plants, but due to natural elevation changes across the city, pressure can fluctuate. Areas located at lower elevations, like parts of Warwick Estates, may experience higher pressure, in some cases exceeding 100 psi.

It’s important to note that this is within operational norms for municipal systems. According to Oklahoma plumbing code, homes are required to have pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) installed when incoming pressure exceeds a certain level. These devices are not installed by the water utility, as they’re part of the private plumbing system and help manage pressure inside the home to prevent damage and maintain safety. If a home does not currently have a functioning PRV, we recommend having a licensed plumber evaluate the system.

We remain committed to addressing immediate repair needs and investing in long-term solutions that support safe, reliable service for our entire community. We are working with urgency, and we hope to soon provide a more comprehensive overview on our website to help explain our plans in greater detail.

City of Oklahoma City Utilities Department