KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A young Kansas City, Missouri, couple welcomed a baby boy into the world on Valentine's Day, but they didn't envision his first few days in this world in a home without running water.
Summer Lea Rose first noticed they had no running water when she went into labor on Saturday, Feb. 13. It wasn't until Feb. 21, after the 41 Action News report first aired, that the water was back on.
"After I got into the shower, I turned it on and a big spurt of water came out like it was going to work and then the pressure started to die down from there," Rose said.
So the couple called their landlord and KC Water to figure out the issue.
"They kept going back and forth, back and forth," Rose's fiancé Casey Hardiman said. "So it was like a never-ending loop to where nobody was going to help us."
It's an emotional time for Rose trying to be a good mother to 6-day-old Shawnee, but her journey into motherhood has been anything but smooth.
"It's really hard," Rose said. "Just to try and have everything brand new and ready for him when he comes here, like I've been working on my whole pregnancy, that's really frustrating because it feels like I've been building up all this nice territory for him to come home in a safe environment just for something like this to happen."
Meanwhile, the couple is trying to do the best they can without running water. They even bought paper plates and several cases of water, which also helps clean the baby's bottle.
They're also melting snow so they can use the toilet.
The mess they are in is causing a financial toll, with Hardiman needing to go back to work.
"I can't imagine leaving my wife here by herself doing all of this after she just had a C-section."
The couple said the problem rests with the in-ground water meter. The landlord has come out to the property several times and warmed up the pipes, but that didn't work.
KC Water told 41 Action News this is a frozen pipe issue and they are investigating.
They've responded to this address four times, according to the department.
Last week, KC Water received 344 no water or low pressure calls. The previous week before the arctic blast, the department was working on 63 calls, along with several other flooding calls coming in.
