Cold weather woes
Temperature drop believed responsible for burst mains
A water main break left a Truro neighbourhood without water service as workers rushed to fix the broken line.
Public Works crews dug up a ruptured water main in the Young Street and Beechwood Drive area Thursday after it had burst late Wednesday.
While the cause of the break was undetermined yesterday, Truro’s Engineering and Public Works department said it was most likely due to freezing from the cold snap the area has experienced the last few days.
“Even though the lines are buried six feet underground, we still see them freeze up from time to time,” said Stephen Creelman, senior engineering technologist for the Public Works department.
“We don’t know for sure that is what caused it, but my guess is it froze over. Breaks like this can be caused by different sediments running through the pipe as well, but this time of year it isn’t uncommon to see them freeze up.”
This was the second of two water mains to burst in the Young Street area Wednesday; another had been repaired that afternoon.
Young Street, between Glenwood and Fairview Drive, and part of Beechwood Drive were closed to all traffic Thursday while crews worked on the line.
At the time, Public Works said water would be restored once the pipe was repaired.
“When things like this happen, we recommend people avoid flushing their toilets or turning on their taps while work is being done,” said Creelman.
“Doing so could cause sediments to back up into your water system. If you do end up turning the taps on or flushing, we suggest taps be run for a few seconds after work on the water main is done, so your system can flush out any sediments in it.”