Recent cold snap leaves Colorado Springs Utilities with over a dozen water main breaks

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - It's been a busy week for Colorado Springs Utility (CSU) crews after a blast of sub-zero temperatures hit southern Colorado and caused water main breaks across the city.

"I know that over the weekend they were often having to remove a foot of ice just to get to some of that underground infrastructure, fix those brakes, get roads restored, and get intersections reopened," explained Jennifer Jordan, with CSU.

Jordan tells KRDO13 they've had to send crews to 12 different water main breaks in just the last 6 days.

Amongst that long list, came the final repairs to the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 21st Street in Old Colorado City on Thursday, which wrapped up around noon. Then just two hours later there was another break, this time along Dublin Boulevard in northern Colorado Springs.

Jordan explains that the water main breaks are not something that can be prevented, unlike the typical precautions homeowners can take for their pipes. It falls on the soils underground which are particularly different in the Pikes Peak region, that surround the pipes and how they react to the drastic temperature changes.

"What they do is cause sort of an expansion and contraction of our local clay soils. That puts additional stress on our underground pipes, and that stress will find a weak point in a pipe, often resulting in a break," said Jordan.

CSU says it may seem extra busy with so many repairs happening in a short span, but she notes this is typical for their workload every winter season.

"Historically, what we see is about 40% of our water main breaks occurring during that time period, which is roughly between the end of November through February."

CSU stressed that if you see a detour, or traffic cones please follow those directions, and keep their crews safe.