Water main breaks increase in colder weather

Utility spokesmen in Pueblo and Colorado Springs said they’ll probably face additional repairs to broken water lines affected by the recent cold snap.

Paul Fanning, of Pueblo Water Works, and Steve Berry, of Colorado Springs Utilities, said Wednesday that two days of temperatures as low as minus 10 likely will produce freeze-thaw cycles that shift the soil supporting underground pipes.

“And that can really put a lot of pressure on joints,” Berry said. “If there’s any kind of corrosion already in place, that can exacerbate the issue. It can affect any kind of pipe but particularly old cast iron pipes.”

Pueblo Water Works crews repaired a main that burst late Tuesday night at the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Poplar Street on the city’s south side.

“We don’t know yet if the cold was a factor,” Fanning said. “But we’ll assess whether we might need to move that main up, on our list of priorities for replacement.”

The break happened next to a mobile home community. Resident Dorothy Patterson said she left water dripping on her faucet to keep her pipes from freezing.

“But when they shut off the water to repair the line, my water pipes froze up under my trailer,” she said. “So I have no water. I have a space heater down there, hoping to thaw them out.”

However, Fanning said the break was repaired without having to completely turn off the flow.

“We’re responsible for the mains but not for the pipes going into homes,” he said.

Both utilities said although it’s impossible to predict when and where a break will happen, they spend money to replace older lines annually and it would be too expensive to replace them any more often.

“Our customers have said they’re very sensitive to price changes,” Berry said. “We’re heeding that. We’re obviously trying to watch how we treat overtime and things like that.”

Fanning said Pueblo has about 50 breaks each year, which is less than other cities of similar size.