A Powell couple is facing a nearly five-figure cleanup bill after a city water main broke and flooded their crawl space in December.

The city’s insurer declined to cover the damage, prompting Don and Diane Branstetter to appeal to the Powell City Council earlier this month.

“[We’re] wondering why the city’s making us pay for it,” Don Branstetter told the council at its March 4 meeting.

While sympathetic, Powell Mayor John Wetzel indicated there was nothing the city could do to help.

“I think it’s an unfortunate incident that this happened, but it’s also a situation that’s sort of resolved between the different insurance companies involved,” Wetzel said.

He added that “the way the insurance works is just unfortunate — that the insurance carrier looks at it as an act of God that the line broke.”

The Branstetters’ ordeal began on Dec. 3, when they awoke to no hot water. When Don Branstetter ventured down into the crawlspace, he found the water heater had been ruined by several inches of water. The entire 1,500 square foot area was covered — and muddy.

Don went and purchased a pump and tried to empty the crawl space, but the water level didn’t drop. The Branstetters then turned to Kleen Kare, but the company’s more powerful pump didn’t have much better luck.

Eventually, they realized the water was flowing in from beneath the foundation, in a spot near the Avenue G home’s water line. City water crews were summoned and they dug down to find a leaking main line. While most of the city’s water mains lie underneath streets or alleyways, one cuts across the Branstetters’ property to serve properties to the south.

City personnel repaired the broken line after hours of work, but it took much longer to fully dry out the crawl space. Beyond the initial use of a pumper, Kleen Kare deployed numerous air movers and dehumidifiers for as long as 12 days. The company’s bill came to $9,536.26 — which was on top of $1,625 for a new water heater.

“I completely and absolutely see this being an issue the city municipality is responsible to cover,” Kleen Kare owner J. J. Jeide wrote in a letter submitted to the city’s insurer, the Cheyenne-based Local Government Liability Pool (LGLP).

However, government agencies generally enjoy broad immunity in Wyoming. When it comes to public utilities, state law says governmental entities are only liable for damage caused “by the negligence of public employees.” In this case, “there is no apparent negligence by the city or city employees,” an LGLP representative wrote in a January letter to the Branstetters.

“We regret this incident occurred and that we are unable to assist you with your loss,” the representative added.

The Branstetters’ home insurance also will not cover the bill, because it relates to a flood, Don said. Homeowners generally have to purchase flood insurance separately, but “who buys flood insurance around here?” Don rhetorically asked the council, referring to the rarity of floods in the Powell area. “I never thought about it.”

He added that, “I figured the city would be responsible since it was their line that was leaking.”

“Unfortunately,” Wetzel responded at the March 4 meeting, “I don’t think there’s anything else we can do about it.”

That leaves the Branstetters stuck with the costs, and the retirees expressed uncertainty about how they’ll cover it.

“We don’t have $9,500,” Diane told the council.

Their predicament isn’t all that unique in Wyoming. In January, multiple homes in Cheyenne suffered substantial damage after a city water main broke and sent a massive surge of water pouring into basements; and in February, Sheridan police destroyed a home as they sought to end a prolonged standoff with an armed, barricaded suspect who had shot and killed an officer. In both cases, municipal leaders said they were not liable for the damage.

But the Branstetters aren’t giving up. In a Friday interview, Diane said the couple is now working with an attorney as they continue to seek compensation from the city.