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Council members press Cleveland Water after repeated Lytle Road breaks that flooded basements
Summary
Councilmembers and the mayor discussed repeated water-main breaks on Lytle Road that caused basement flooding and a sinkhole, and urged continued pressure on Cleveland Water — which owns the mains — to prioritize replacements; the committee recorded ongoing applications and city coordination but took no formal action beyond continuing oversight.
Councilmembers raised concerns Oct. 7 about repeated water-main breaks along Lytle Road that have damaged several properties and created a sinkhole at Bennett and Nottingham.
Councilmember Michael Wos told the committee the breaks have been frequent and have caused basement flooding for residents. "It seems that Cleveland Water does not feel like this street is important enough to deal with it," Wos said, urging continued efforts to get Cleveland Water to act.
Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz and City Engineer Matthew Glass described the city’s past applications to Cleveland Water for main replacements and said the city will continue to apply in future funding rounds. Glass said he believed applications are made in a spring or summer round, and the mayor noted Cleveland Water prioritizes repairs based on severity and other criteria.
Law Director Tom Kelly characterized the city’s arrangement with Cleveland Water as a long-standing operational agreement under which Cleveland Water owns and maintains the mains while the city handles road restoration; Kelly said the arrangement dates back roughly to 2013. Councilmember Paul Marnecheck and others questioned whether there are options for municipalities to perform smaller repairs and seek reimbursement if Cleveland Water is stretched thin; officials said they would continue to press Cleveland Water and explore options.
The meeting record includes examples members cited of long repair response times: Marnecheck said a break at State and Royalwood took about eight weeks to fix. Members credited the Service Department for rapid road restoration when the city undertook repairs, noting a resident was helped quickly after a recent break.
No formal motion was made on this item; the committee directed staff to continue applying for Cleveland Water funding and to keep the issue on the committee radar.
