Cheyenne Family Struggling For Answers After Water Main Break

1/31 UPDATE: Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins on Wednesday morning expressed sympathy for the families affected by the flooding, calling it a "huge tragedy." The mayor said the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities [BOPU] is in the process of discussions with the Wyoming Association of Risk Management on how to address claims arising from the flooding.

One of several families trying to recover from flooding from a water main break in the Cahill Park area this week says they are trying to recover from an almost total loss of everything they own.

But so far, help and answers are in short supply.

The Peterson family on Darnell Place went to bed on Monday night thinking Tuesday would be just another day. Little did they know that devastating flooding would destroy much of what they owned by daybreak, possibly changing their lives forever.

According to the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities, a water main break was reported in the Cahill Park area around 1:20 a.m. Crews were already busy with another water main break elsewhere in the city but were able to be on the scene at the park by 2 a.m. They succeeded in shutting off the water by 5 a.m. and service was restored within a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, by that time, a flood of water had taken over much of the area.

Mrs. Peterson says flooding filled the basements of several homes in the area. Furnaces and water heaters were destroyed, and power was lost. She says their home suffered an estimated $80,000 in damage.

Like most folks, they don't have that kind of money readily available. They've been told that their insurance won't cover this type of damage, and she says the City of Cheyenne doesn't seem inclined to offer help either.

She says they may end up in foreclosure on the home. One of the effects of that would be to destroy their credit, meaning renting a place to live might be a problem as well.

In the meantime, they are dealing with trying to clean up after the flooding.