13 Investigates: Colorado Springs homeowners out thousands due to water main break
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On January 28, residents on Pinyon Jay Drive in east Colorado Springs had an unexpected wake-up call. When Alex Olson looked outside his window at 5:30 a.m., he saw water shooting high up into the air in the middle of the road.
"I get out of bed and I look out my window over there and I see a geyser that's going about 30 to 40 feet," Olson explained.
Once the initial shock faded away, Olson quickly became worried about how the water main break was going to affect his house after realizing the water wasn't immediately turned off.
Olson tells 13 Investigates he went into his basement and found about two inches of water with an "undesirable" scent.
The Problem
According to officials, the geyser was the result of a water main break. That break caused Olson's basement to fill with the content of a breached sewer line.
In water district records obtained by 13 Investigates, Cherokee Metro District crews were on scene within 21 minutes of the initial call for service at 5:55 a.m.
Records indicate it took crews another 64 minutes to get the water off, resulting in a loss of 900,000 gallons of water.
An after-action report details how the water valves were frozen shut in 16-degree weather. This caused extended delays for Cherokee crews.
"It's a dangerous set of circumstances no matter how you cut it but they have to get to the scene and deal with it and protect themselves at the same time," Cherokee Metro Board President Steve Hasbrouck said.
The Cost of Damages
Days after the break happened, Olson and his neighbor Jeff Bandy learned they would have to foot the cost of repairs.
Because the water main break wasn't on their properties, it was in the middle of the street, the damage done wasn't covered by their homeowner's insurance.
The sewer water seeped into their carpets, damaged doors, warped cabinets, and more. Olson faced $27,000 in repairs and Olson faced $30,000. The sewer water seeped into their carpets, damaged doors, warped cabinets, and more.
Since the incident, Cherokee Metro has offered to help Bandy with basement repair costs. Their insurance provider provided him with $10,000, combined with $5,000 from his insurance provider because of a "special clause" Bandy had with his insurance.
However, they have challenged the amount invoiced by the company that fixed the damages, Rare Restoration.
The owner of Rare Restoration, Doug Weatherman, told 13 Investigates they removed multiple doors and a sink that was affected by water damage.
Weatherman provided photos showing the work done to Bandy's property:
In a statement to 13 Investigates, Weatherman said, "In this particular case Mr. Bandy had no-fault; neither did the elements of his home's plumbing and the amount of damage was quite severe."
Cherokee claims that Rare Restoration fixed four doors and a sink that did not incur water damages, and therefore did not need to be repaired. The water utility company claims more than $1,600 was unnecessarily added to the invoice.
Bandy says Cherokee Metro board members are contacting all of the contractors that helped restore his basement to its pre-water damage condition.
"This is ridiculous because every single one of [my contractors] has made the claim that they are trying to screw you, watch out," Bandy said.
Despite saying they were "not negligent," Cherokee Metro's insurance provider has given Bandy a check for $10,000 and has offered him an additional $9,555.18 saying it is the "neighborly" thing to do.
"Technically we don't have to and it's a dangerous precedence to set if you are going to take care of everybody's problems 100% for the rest of our lives," Hasbrouck said. "We shouldn't set that precedent because it really doesn't exist."
Even with the neighborly offer, Bandy would still be short somewhere between $1,600 and $2,200. He has already paid Rare Restoration to fix his basement out of pocket.
Still, Cherokee Metro General Manager Amy Lathen told 13 Investigates they stand by their decision to offer less than the invoiced amount. She calls the offer extended to Bandy "unprecedented."
Legal Battle
Bandy told 13 Investigates he believes Cherokee Water District is at fault.
"They are liable. It's their fault it happened, not the valve. It's their fault the backup happened," Bandy said.
13 Investigates reached out to the Colorado Division of Insurance to learn how people can protect themselves from this type of damage in the future.
The CDI recommended flood insurance as a worthy protection policy for water damages. However, the state says that the type of damage is key.
If the water enters the home from below the earth's surface, and the owners of the pipes aren't "negligent" with repairs, it won't be covered.
In order for a utility company to be held liable, the owners of the pipes are deemed negligent has to be proven with evidence or in a court of law.
Cherokee Metro tells 13 Investigates they were "not negligent with repairs" on the Pinyon Jay water line, and are not liable for homeowners' damages. Hasbrouck reiterates that it's a homeowner's responsibility to deal with the damage.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of homeownership. We assume that liability when we buy a house."
Cherokee Metro Board President Steve Hasbrouck
In an assessment report provided to 13 Investigates, Cherokee Metro says the line in question is only 21-years-old, well before water line repairs are made at the 50 to 100-year mark.
Additionally, the water utility company says its response times to the break were well within the emergency response requirements, and the time it took to get the water off was within their 60-120 minute requirement as well.
Amid his fight for the money, Bandy had a tension-filled phone call with Cherokee Metro water administrator, Brian Beaudette last month.
"I told him at the end of the conversation that I am sick of them treating us the way they are, and I will be there at the [board] meeting with guns a-blazing. That is what I said," Bandy tells 13 Investigates.
Cherokee Metro claims that Bandy said, "I will be at the board meeting with guns a blazing and you all will get what you deserve."
Following that conversation, Cherokee Metro officials called the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and filed a harassment report against Bandy.
The phone call also led to the cancellation of the board meeting the next day due to a "threat" to the Board of Directors.
Cherokee Metro officials eventually filed a restraining order against Bandy, effectively keeping him away from future meetings.
Bandy views his conversation with Beaudette differently. He says his words were not a threat to the Board of Directors. Instead, Bandy says he planned to express his displeasure with the way they were handling the water main break.
"I am going to stick up for me and all of my neighbors. I am not going to get pushed around by these people and I'm in this for the long haul," Bandy said. "No matter how long it takes. I'm in."
The restraining order against Bandy was dropped in civil court last week. The next Cherokee Metro Board Meeting is scheduled for May 17.
At the time of publishing, Bandy has to pay close to $13,000, and Olson has to pay $30,000.
Olson is in the process of providing Cherokee Metro with three contractor bids for the restoration of his basement.
