Bitter cold causing water main breaks across Metro Detroit

Water main breaks crop up around Metro Detroit due to frigid temps

On Tuesday multiple cities on the east side were dealing with emergency water shutoffs after main breaks caused by the frigid temperatures.

FOX 2 - Cold temperatures and old pipes don’t mix. We are seeing water main brakes pop up all over Metro Detroit.

The backstory:

With frigid temperatures and wind chills dipping into the -30s this week, there will likely be more.

The interesting thing is that water mains are also possible in very hot weather - in both weather extremes.

 Workers then have to drill to find the break. When repairs are happening, that means the water is shut off for large numbers of customers in a given area.

On Tuesday one of the breaks is in Grosse Pointe Park where about 100 homes are affected.

One Grosse Pointe couple had sewer water in their homes.

"No heat, and we had about 2 and a half feet of water in our basement this morning when we woke up," said one woman.

"There are many reasons for breaks, the pressure fluctuations, the ground shifting, things like that," said one worker. "You can get pressure reducing valves on your system that helps, but it doesn’t completely eliminate them."

The first step is finding the site of the water main break. The last step of the restoration process is testing of the water to make sure the water is safe.

"Right now we are drilling into the concrete to see where the leak is," said a worker.