Detroit street flooded and frozen after water main break

A water main broke on Detroit's west side as the state is locked into the coldest temperatures of the season.

With the highs barely climbing above zero, residents on Vaughan near Joy and Evergreen spent the past couple of days staring at a lake in front of their home. But the cold is only making things worse.

The lake started forming and freezing over the past two days.

Local perspective:

"Yesterday they were pushing this (ice) around. They did nothing. Look as you can see they’ve done nothing," neighbor Jamel Stokes said.

Cars are getting stuck trying to drive through he lake and Stokes said he had to park on his front lawn when he got home.

"You see I have to drive on the sidewalk or freeze to death. I’m telling you," Stokes said.

The city has been working on the problem. They know about this break and they’re trying to fix it - but first they have to pump out all the water that’s inside the hole where the break is. 

"We’re gonna have an excavator come out and takes this water," Bryan Peckinpaugh with Detroit Water and Sewage Department said.

The city has eight crews working on the water and ice on the coldest day of the year. 

But this may not be the only one we see. The cold weather causes the water mains to burst and there are old pipes throughout the city, meaning more could break in the future.

"Whenever there’s a drastic change in temperature that puts tension on the pipes and that causes the breaks," How old are these pipes? Some of these pipes are over 90 years old, but issue is the frigid temperature," Peckinpaugh said.

The city had to turn off the water for a bit, resulting in low water pressure for neighbors like Stokes.

What's next:

The problem isn't resolved once the water is pumped out and the main is fixed – it's going ot leave an icy mess for neighbors.

"As soon as they repair the water main, we’re going to have a crew come back out and take the ice and water off the street and they’ll be able to get to the street and park off the roadway instead of their lawn," Peckinpaugh said.

That could take a few days – making crossing the street difficult.

"We’ve been communicating with these residents and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused," Peckinpaugh said.

The Source: FOX 2's Charlie Langton spoke with Bryan Peckinpaugh with Detroit Water and Sewarage and Jamel Stokes for this story.

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