Waterline Main Breaks and Repairs
Although water main breaks are rare, they do occur from time to time. When they do happen, our Public Works staff are working to fix it, however, it’s not as easy as “flipping a switch” so there may be an interruption of your water service. The best thing to do is be patient, leave faucets turned off, and avoid the area where the leak occurs, if possible.
Once the leak has been repaired, there may be air and/or sediment in your water system, which may cause discolored water.
To remove the discoloration
- Turn on your outside hose bibs at full force one at a time for 10 minutes or until the water runs clear. Start with the hose bib closest to your water meter.
- If the water does not clear after a few minutes, wait an hour. Repeat the process until the water runs clear.
- After the outside hose bibs run clear, run the cold-water faucets at full force throughout the house for 5 minutes or until the water clears.
- Start at the cold-water faucet in the bathtub because that faucet has the highest flow.
- After the tub faucet and hose bibs run clear, flush all other cold-water faucets in the house.
- After flushing, remove faucet aerators to clear any particles and then reinstall them.
- Do not do laundry during a water main leak. When the leak is fixed, the next load of laundry should be dark colors. Light laundry might be stained by discolored water that may still be in the pipes.