St. Petersburg resident, Bessie Wainwright, 79, said last fall city crews left a large water-filled hole in the sidewalk in front of her home and it still has not been fixed.

"It's been there like four months," she said. "They dug it up, they tore up my grass and everything and they left it. I called the city three times. They said they was going to come out and fix it, no one never has."

Wainwright lives on the 800-block of 17th Ave. S. and said the water-filled hole has become a nuisance.

"It's a hazard. It smells and I was so afraid that some of the children were going to come by and fall in it," she said. "When it rains, it runs over."

Wainwright said she got so frustrated with the lack of action by the city that she decided to call Bay News 9 for help on Tuesday. Bay News 9 contacted city spokesman Ben Kirby, who immediately dispatched the Mayor's Action Center team to check on the problem.

City work crews quickly arrived at Wainwright's home and began pumping water out of the hole. A water resources supervisor told Wainwright it appears the city work crew in October, accidentally nicked a storm water pipe while making a repair to a potable service leak.

The supervisor said the water resources department had no record of any calls complaining about the hole and didn’t know why a restoration order was not written after the original work was completed.

Wainwright said the storm water work crews told her the hole should be fixed by Thursday and she’s happy the matter is getting the attention that’s needed.

"If Bay News 9 hadn't got on it… they would not have come out and fixed it,” she said. “Four months they were not worried about it. So, I call you all."  

Wainwright also said her water bill had gone up about $20 per month since that work was done in October. Kirby declined a request for an on camera interview but told Bay News 9 over the phone that Wainwright will get a credit on her water bill.

St. Petersburg residents who need to report a problem can use an app called ‘See Click Fix’ or by calling the Mayor’s Action Center at (727) 893-7111.