Houston Public Works outlines plan to cut water loss, speed leak repairs

Houston Public Works on Thursday briefed the Government Operations Committee on a multi‑year effort to reduce water loss and accelerate leak repairs, citing aging pipes, staffing challenges and recent improvements that officials say are beginning to lower outstanding work orders.

Gabriel Musio, senior assistant director for drinking water operations, said the department maintains a public dashboard showing active work orders and that the system recorded a peak of 191 active work orders on March 18, 2025 and was at 498 active orders as of Aug. 13, 2025. He said Houston is receiving roughly 150–200 service calls per day and crews are completing about 40–50 repairs on weekdays.

"We have a public‑facing dashboard that's on the city website," Musio said. "Our goal is to complete the repair within seven days." He told members the department is completing roughly 60% of repairs within that seven‑day target, up from under 50% in March.

The presentation described recent operational changes: the department has added four contractors since last year, moved contract management into an internal CIP project management system to improve transparency, developed advanced analytics and daily dashboards to track crews, and consolidated restoration into distribution maintenance to gain efficiencies.

Mira Victor, program manager with Kroll Engineers, said the consultant team will focus first on process optimization, routing and scheduling improvements, cost analysis of in‑house versus contracted repairs, review of standard operating procedures, and evaluation of leak‑detection technologies. She said short‑term objectives are planned to be completed in roughly 12 months and the longer‑term repair‑prioritization framework in about 18 months.

"We will be developing a waterline repair prioritization framework," Victor said, describing how the team will factor pipe age, burial depth, material and soil conditions to decide which segments to replace before they fail. She added the city has identified about 9% of the distribution system (the presentation said roughly 7,600 miles) as needing replacement and aims to maintain a 3% annual replacement rate going forward.

Council members pressed staff for more data. Musio said the department can provide loss and cost figures for 2024 and current estimates on request, and that meter installations are handled by a separate service line; staff will follow up with that timeline. Committee members also asked how long complex repairs take: Musio described routine on‑site repairs as taking four to eight hours once crews isolate a leak, but noted examples—such as a leak under an overpass—that required extensive permitting and coordination and remained open for more than 200 days.

On staffing, Musio said the department has lost internal crews to voluntary retirement and is in the process of backfilling positions; he did not provide a final vacancy count but said hiring for utility technicians and equipment operators is ongoing. He said the city typically issues a notice to proceed for contractors within one to two weeks of contract execution and that additional contractors generally mobilize with one to three crews quickly.

The department repeatedly told council offices it will provide follow‑up numbers—detailed 2024 loss/cost figures, vacancy counts, and smart‑meter rollout timelines—so members can assess budgeting and program timelines. No formal action or vote occurred at the meeting.