Woodbury City Council to Examine Breaking Pipes

Over the past two winters, there have been 20 broken water lines at Woodbury homes.

That’s a lot. So is the cost of fixing them—about $3,500 on average.

The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday will and who would be responsible for the cost when the lines break.

The city’s current ordinance states that residents are responsible for any repairs to the curb stop (a valve in a residential water service line) or water line.

“Many residents do not know that the repair of the curb stop and the water service line is their responsibility and are shocked at the expense of making the repair,” reads a portion of the council memo on the matter.

Options for the council, according to the agenda, include keeping the remaining policy in place, having those costs placed on the home’s tax roll as assessments or having the city pay for the repairs in some instances. The annual costs for the city on the latter option would be $35,000 a year at the current failure rate.

During an , council members informally agreed to take a pronged approach to the problem:

• provide residents with information about the issue,
• compile a list of preferred contractors and insurance providers,
• study the matter as part of a water-rate analysis, and
• examine alternatives for payment plans for residents whose lines break or leak.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at .

• discuss an update of the city code regarding emergency management.
• discuss liquor licenses for O’Malley’s Pub and Eagle Valley Golf Course.
• view a defensive driving video.

Check out the full agenda on the city’s website.

Be sure to follow Woodbury Patch on Twitter, like us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletters, which send you updates about stories, breaking news, announcements, events and blogs on the site.