UPDATE: Lawyers Road Reopened After Water Main Break

Update 1:39 p.m.: The westbound lane of Lawyers Road has been reopened to traffic, according to the town.

Original: Town of Vienna crews are repairing a water main break Thursday morning on Lawyers Road — the ninth across town since the Fourth of July.

The westbound lane of Lawyers Road will be closed between Sharon Lane and Holmes Drive until the road is repaired, the town said in a community alert sent at 8:49 a.m.

Town of Vienna crews have dealt with several breaks and leaks since the Fourth of July, when a water main break and left residents without water on the first of several consecutive days of record heat across the region.

On Saturday, Kingsley Road between Nutley Street and Meadow Lane as crews made repairs; on Sunday, town crews shutting down the road at its intersection with John Marshall Drive.

On Monday, Battle Street was closed between Birch and Plum Streets SW

Crews repaired Tuesday morning across southeast and southwest Vienna, on Courthouse Road, Apple Blossom Court and the intersection of Circle Drive and Harmony — shut down because of the interrupted water service, calling parents to ask them to bring their children home.

Patrick Street was closed much of Wednesday evening between Park and DeSale Streets as crews repaired water main breaks there. The road has since reopened.

Public Information Officer Kirstyn Barr and Director of Public Work Dennis Johnson said in a letter to Patch that "extreme fluctuations in temperature are the main contributors" to the spike in water main breaks across town.

"Throughout the year, water and sewer pipes and all of their fittings do fine when the temperature increases and decreases are gradual. It’s when we have sudden spikes or drops in temperature that more breaks occur. This is due to that the pipe, its fittings and the environment it is in are dissimilar materials and have different thermal expansion rates.  ... when there is a sudden change in the temperature, either high or low, the materials change shape quickly thus causing stress and eventually break," Barr wrote.

The majority of the water system, created largely post-WWII in the 1960s and 70s, is built mostly of cast iron. The sewer system consists largely of concrete pipes. A report said 95 percent of the water pipes in town are in good to fair condition.

The age and type of pipe do factor into the equation, Barr said, but are not the main contributors, " which is why breaks are random and unpredictable."

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

Get daily and breaking news email updates from Vienna Patch by signing up for newsletters here. Or keep in touch on Twitter and Facebook.