Dallas water pipe that leaked millions of gallons of clean water now fixed, city says

DALLAS - What looked like a swamp just weeks ago in Dallas is now just dirt and high grass.

The city of Dallas says a leak that flooded a wooded area in the southern part of the city is now fixed. But there are still questions about how long the leak lasted and how much water was wasted.

Since FOX 4 began reporting on the issue, we have requested three on-camera interviews with city staff. Every request has been denied. 

A conservationist we spoke to believes there’s much more to this story than what the city is saying. 

A video posted July 30 shows a man kayaking across millions of gallons of drinking water in Pleasant Grove. Now, the water is gone.

Conservationist Ben Sandifer has been independently studying the area for years.

"It raises a lot of concern for me," he said.

Dallas Water Utilities crews completed repairs to the 30-inch pipeline over Labor Day weekend. On Monday, the city began restoring the pipeline to the water supply. 

FOX 4 reported about the massive water main break behind William Plair, Jr. Park in August.

"The social media aspect of it that someone posted online I think brought a lot of new eyes," Sandifer said.

The city of Dallas says it’s been investigating since October of last year, but Sandifer is showing FOX 4 documentation of a formal complaint he made to the city seven months before that.

"I’ve seen it on Google Maps, aerial maps for at least the last decade in this one spot," he said.

In August, the city estimated it lost more than 3.6 million gallons of drinking water.

"It seems very low. It seems minuscule to the amount of water that’s actually been discharged off this site," Sandifer said.

Sandifer is concerned about the ecosystem.

"We have an area now that has been heavily damaged by a human-made water leak. My concern is what the next steps are here," he said.

Sandifer is also concerned about the loss of taxpayers’ water.

"There’s a ton of water coming out of this thing," he said. "Of our drinking water. Us, the ratepayers, are paying for this."

Sandifer believes the city has not been forthcoming with everything it knows.

"A lot of citizens are making those conscious decisions for water conservation," he said. "But on the city level, sometimes when you see something like this, you wonder if they’re practicing what they preach."

FOX 4 did follow up with the city on Sunday and Monday, but we have not had a formal response.