AUSTIN (KXAN) – The irony was not lost on David Way.

While he methodically worked to save an oak tree in his front yard by using a soaker hose on his designated watering day, water, on a few occasions, was gushing from a water tower just feet away from his western Travis County home.

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“My guess is untold thousands of gallons,” Way said. “The waste of water in this time of drought.”

David Way recorded this footage in early December of water overflowing from a tank at the foot of a Travis County Water District 10 water tower (Courtesy: David Way).

“It’s simply not OK to let that keep happening,” he added.

Way recorded one of the overflows on his phone. His footage showed water running out of the top of what appears to be a concrete overflow tank at the base of the water tower. The video showed the water running into the street.

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He said over about a two-week period recently it happened often, sometimes daily.

Each time, Way said he contacted Crossroads Utility to report it.

“And they [Crossroads Utility] say, ‘we’ll refer you to the right person’. That’s usually what you get,” he said.

While Crossroads operates and maintains the facility, Travis County Water District 10 owns it.

The district’s general manager, Carla Orts, told KXAN Investigator Mike Rush the water tower overflowed five times, starting on Thanksgiving weekend.

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How much water was wasted isn’t clear, but Orts said it could be an estimated 100,000 gallons.

As far as why it’s happening, Orts said squirrels are to blame. She said they damaged the communication line linking the water tower to a water tank at a different location that fills it.

In short, the water tower wasn’t able to send the automated shutoff command telling the water tank it was full, so the water kept coming.

When the overflows first started, the general manager said workers made a repair, but days later, she said, squirrels again damaged the line, leading to another overflow.

Workers then replaced the copper line with an updated fiber line. During the installation, communication was cut off, which resulted in even more overflows.

The general manager said once communication equipment compatible with the new fiber line comes in, the problem should be resolved.

Way said he now has a better understanding of why the overflows kept coming, despite his repeated calls.

“I felt like nothing was happening with this problem,” he said.

Orts told KXAN Investigates Crossroads Utility manually operated the system to prevent additional overflows while they waited for the new equipment compatible with the new fiber line to be delivered. According to Orts, the part arrived and was installed on Dec. 23, which, she said, should solve the overflow issue.

In addition, Orts said the district is working to upgrade the communication lines at two other water towers in the district.

She said the overflows did not impact customers’ water service.

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