Drought Leads to Record Number of Main Breaks in Iowa City

Like Iowa City Patch on Facebook | Sign Up for our free e-mail Newsletter | Follow us on Twitter

Media Release

Iowa City residents might have expected that last summer's drought would have caused some issues for the City's Water Division, and they'd be right -- but probably not exactly in the ways they think. The real impact of the drought, as it turns out, has been low soil moisture, which has caused the ground to shift and water mains to be displaced, resulting in a record number of water main breaks.

Before last summer's drought, the previous record-high number of breaks in one month was five, reports Jude Moss of the City's Water Service Division. From May 2012 through February 2013, however, City crews have been called out to repair a total of 78 water main breaks, which can interrupt water supply for a neighborhood or business district often without notice. Moss warns that the problems are not yet over, and that cold temperatures will actually exacerbate problems for the City's 262-mile underground water main system.

Once a water main break is identified, a Water Division maintenance crew is dispatched to the area to make repairs and restore water service, a process that can take three to four hours or even longer, depending on the severity of the break and the amount of work that needs to be done. The urgency of a water main break situation often means that there is not enough time to notify residents and businesses in advance that their water will be shut off so that repairs can get underway. 

Residents who lose their water supply, or who notice water bubbling up from the ground or roadway, or experience another problem that may be indicative of a water main break are urged to call the Water Emergency number at 319/356-5166, available 24 hours a day including weekends. Be prepared to provide a description of the problem, the exact location, and your name, address, and telephone number. 

To find out if there is a water main break in your neighborhood, call the Water Emergency number or look for our water main break emergency notifications on the home page of our website at www.icgov.org, our Facebook page (The City of Iowa City Government) or our Twitter feeds 
(@CityOfIowaCity or https://twitter.com/CityOfIowaCity.