The water main on La Vista Drive between Hubert and Mecca Streets has broken five times between 2021 and 2025, but according to one neighbor on that stretch, that’s just part of living in East Dallas.
A replacement project is in the works for that part of La Vista. The cast iron pipe installed in 1934 will be replaced by a PVC pipe, and construction is planned for this summer, according to a Dallas Water Utilities representative.
City workers previously replaced the water main from Mecca Street to Empire Drive in 2021. Meanwhile, the main from Greenville Avenue to Matilda Street is over 20 years old, and the pipes between Matilda and Hubert Streets were installed in 1999, with one section from 1970.
“Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) manages approximately 5,080 miles of water mains and 4,084 miles of sewer mains,” the water utilities representative says in an email. “DWU evaluates the condition and capacity of each main to determine the need for replacement. If replacement is warranted, the main is prioritized for replacement through a future capital improvement project.”
The statement continues, “Various factors can lead to water main breaks, including increased water demands and stress to the water system, changes in system pressures, changes in weather that lead to expansion and contraction of clay soils and aged infrastructure. Dallas Water Utilities has a multifaceted, strategic approach to protect the system through operation and maintenance, conservation efforts and our capital improvement program.”
Residents on La Vista Drive see the water breaks as a fairly minor inconvenience, if they have experienced them at all. They said the water was shut off for a few hours, but didn’t report major property damage or their lives being significantly affected.
Shannon Thornton, 57, has lived in her home on La Vista for 20 years and has seen the same place on the road flood about half a dozen times.
“You just see water seeping up out of this giant pothole and running down the street until the city sends a group,” Thornton says. Usually, the city is quick to address the leak within 24 hours, she says, but last time it seemed to take longer.
When this happens, the street is still usable, but motorists have to know how to drive around the pothole, which Thornton says was almost a sinkhole last time.
Thornton hopes that the utilities replacement project means the City will repave La Vista Drive and fix the potholes, but it’s unclear if that will be part of the plan.
City officials also expect to replace the water main on Oram Street from Skillman Street to Abrams Road, which has broken seven times between 2000 and 2025. The main is a cast iron pipe installed in 1928 and will be replaced with PVC. The project is in the design phase.
Like her neighbors, Thornton took a more or less pragmatic approach to the water main breaks — it’s just something that happens, but it’s not the end of the world.
“I guess we figure we’re not alone,” she says. “Truly, it happens all over the city. It’s a big city.”
