DE SOTO, Mo. – A De Soto water main break flooded a woman’s basement, but the city’s insurance will not pay for the damages.

Susan Gore’s street runs down a steep hill. So when a water main broke on Jan. 26 at the intersection of Sixth and Essex streets, water rolled down the hill right into her basement. 

“At this point, if we have to pay for it, this is just going to be how it is for a long time, and it breaks my heart because our nieces and nephews—we have almost 30 nieces and nephews, and they all would like to come down here,” Gore said. 

Now, almost two weeks later, her basement is still torn up. Gore has been hoping the city will cover the cost of repairs.

“It’s their water main. It was their break. They came and fixed it, so they need to come and fix the damages. It’s definitely not our fault,” she said. 

But the city’s insurance provider denied the claim.

“We did not know anything was failing. We responded as we should have,” De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus said as he explained why the insurance provider says the city is not legally liable. 

Melkus said the city has been responsive about addressing the original leak and inspected the area for any other potential problems. But he says there are legal reasons why the city will not go against the insurance’s decision.

“I’ll be looking into any options we have for the homeowner’s sake. It’s relatively early in the situation since we did just find out yesterday,” Melkus said. 

Gore is hoping the basement gets fixed quickly so she can get back to enjoying the family hangout spot.  

“I just peek in, and I’m like a dog scratching at a window. I wish we could be in here again. I wish we could enjoy our time in here, but until this is fixed, that’s just not going to happen,” he said. 

Melkus will discuss other options with more city officials.