Irrigation damage impacts Tempe homes

Ongoing irrigation concerns continue to affect an historic Tempe neighborhood. The homeowners there say bad excavation work over the spring and then failed attempts to fix it have left them high and dry. Fox 10's Nicole Christine joins us in studio with where the issue stands now. Nicole. A whole lot hasn't changed. We've just moved the story a little bit farther to my driveway. Since March, Chris Runyon has had to navigate an irrigation nightmare in the front yard of her Tempe home. It all began when she says a contractor for developer Thompson Thrift damaged an irrigation pipe while conducting work connected to a new shopping center across the street. Runyon says several attempts to fix the issue have been unsuccessful, and routine yard work is now even more of a chore. When I go out to mow, what they have left behind is a lot of ruts and big mounds of dirt. There's also hidden chunks of concrete. My mower hit one, and now it's making weird noises that it shouldn't make. It's almost like dying now. Also dying are some of the trees in the larger Tally Ho Farms South neighborhood. More than 40 homes rely on the same SRP irrigation network. And due to the irrigation pipe issues on Runyon's property, residents must either pay for city water or go without. The nightmare is real. Everybody is at wit's end. I have one neighbor that lost a big mature tree. I have another neighbor that was complaining that she had a $600 bill. I shared that information with another neighbor who said they had a $900 bill. We're on large parcels of property. We can't afford to be without water. Runyon says a complaint was filed with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors and a site inspection is scheduled for December. Meanwhile, homeowners are discussing their options, including footing the bill for a new contractor to come fix the leak. But first, they're hoping Thompson Thrift will step in and provide some relief. hire a qualified contractor that lays concrete pipe that knows the proper way to do it and do it correctly and just get it behind us. I just wish someone would say hey you know you need to have some scruples and do what's right. Now Thompson Thrift did respond to our initial reporting on this issue in July with a statement saying they're aware of the issue and take the concerns seriously. We reached out to the company again for this follow-up story and are awaiting a response. In studio tonight, Nicole Christine, Fox 10 News.