City water line near Little Forest Hills allegedly leaking for over a month

Illustration by smartboy10.

A neighbor near Little Forest Hills is speaking out about a leaky water line that he said has gone unrepaired for at least 39 days. 

Andrew Rohe told NBC DFW that water pooling on San Fernando Way off Lakeland Drive is caused by a City of Dallas water main that has been broken since July 31. Rohe said he has reported the leak via 311 multiple times. 

“The City came out later that evening and immediately determined that it was their main that was leaking, and since then, it’s kind of been crickets for us,” Rohe said to NBC DFW. He added that he’s not looking to place blame but does want the leak fixed as soon as possible. 

I reached out to the City’s communication team to find out when the leak will be fixed, why it hasn’t been fixed already and what the repair would entail. This story will be updated once I receive answers.

According to its 2025 Water Loss Audit, Dallas Water Utilities had 10.36 billion gallons of real water loss, up slightly from 2024 data. 

“Water loss is an expected and unavoidable component of operating a large water distribution system and can be influenced by several factors, including increased water demand, system pressures, shifting soils, temperature fluctuations, aging infrastructure and the normal wear associated with moving large volumes of water through pipelines each day,” reads this June memo from Assistant City Manager Dev Rastogi. “(DWU) replaces approximately 40 miles of water mains annually and has replaced more than 400 miles of aging pipeline infrastructure during the past decade. These improvements help reduce the likelihood of leaks and water main breaks while enhancing overall system performance.”

In June and July, DWU saw 128 main breaks and 310 neighborhood line leaks, NBC DFW reported.

Dallas Water Utilities also has a Leak Detection Program that is supposed to identify non-surfacing leaks in the system, according to the memo. The department is looking to supplement its capabilities with additional contracted repair resources and is working on its Water Loss Mitigation Plan.