Drought, heat contribute to increase in water main breaks

Drought, heat contribute to increase in water main breaks

October 8, 2007

By ERICA ESTEP
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Water main breaks in the Knoxville area have increased 40 percent this summer, compared to last summer, and the drought is playing a part in the rise. 

Officials with the Knoxville Utility Board compared June through the beginning of October 2006 to the same months this summer to get the numbers.

Heat and dry weather, two of the main ingredients in this year's drought, cause the ground to shift and water mains may break as a result.

But the ages and the types of pipes can also contribute to them breaking.

July has been the worst month this year. There were 73 percent more water main breaks than during last July.

On average for the year, KUB has one water main break a day. However, not all the breaks cause an interruption in water service. Crews can often repair breaks without affecting the public.

KUB's infrastructure was built nearly a century ago. The utility had been replacing about five miles of water pipe a year for more than a decade. But at that rate, officials say it would have taken 300 years to upgrade the whole system.

So in May, KUB launched Century II, a comprehensive infrastructure management and replacement program. There was also a rate hike to speed up the process.

Officials hope to have 14-miles of pipe replaced per year by 2010.