'You better fix it right'; business owners blame El Paso Water for delayed repairs - KFOX El Paso

'You better fix it right'; business owners blame El Paso Water for delayed repairs | KFOX

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — Two local business owners are turning to KFOX14 for help after a persistent problem is only growing worse.

These owners say they have lost thousands of dollars in revenue after multiple water main breaks and what they say is messy repair work by El Paso Water.

A water main break was reported Tuesday in the alleyway off Mesa between Schuster and Rim Road in west El Paso.

Water has since been restored.

The alleyway is located behind 1701 N. Stanton Street, where Maritza Perez is the landlord.

"This had already happened in the same exact spot five months ago," Perez said.

KFOX14 spoke to Perez after the first break happened in May.

Perez says the breaks are only part of the bigger problem.

"My concern is that they truly fix the problem as well as the street," said Perez.

Perez says she is hopeful El Paso Water will replace the line completely to avoid another break however, she also says the street was never properly repaved after last time.

Perez believes the alleyway has created a dangerous situation for drivers.

"The damage is bigger than just what the water shooting produces because obviously once the water was shooting, it hit somebody's car with rocks and that's one of my tenants," said Perez. "We have been now five months with a very dangerous alley."

KFOX14 also spoke to Laura Miramontez, owner of Gentlemen's Republic in the same alleyway.

"I don’t think it's a prone place," said Miramontez. "I think it’s just shotty work to be honest because this is the second time it happens in less than six months... now we have to close for work today."

Miramontez says one day without customers is no small loss.

"$3000 for the day. Yeah, that’s a lot," said Miramontez.

"It is in the thousands that it is taking from her business as well as mine because I can assure you that neither one of those two tenants who have car damage is going to want to renew their lease. That is thousands and thousands in damages to my business," said Perez.

They say their message for the utility is crystal clear.

"I really want to see action on their behalf," said Perez.

"You better fix it right this time. We expect it," said Miramontez.

In a statement to KFOX14, an EPWU spokesperson said, " The delay to pave the area after the main break back in May was due to another utility filing a permit to do work in the area."

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As of Monday, after the most recent break, EPWU said there was no clear timeline for when the alleyway would be repaved.

EPWU previously told KFOX14 that a pavement delay across all projects was due to a "shortage of labor and materials."

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Upon asking for an update on all paving projects after the most recent break, EPWU sent the following statement:
EPWater has made progress on the backlog of paving projects by increasing the pool of paving contractors to reduce paving wait times and additional collaboration with City of El Paso staff to improve the paving permit process. Due to pending litigation, the utility is limited in the information it can share at this time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.