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Politics & Government

Water Main Break Season Is Officially Open

Public Works department on alert as temperatures fluctuate.

The freezing and thawing cycles that come with winter and spring are known to wreak havoc on water mains, and Northbrook’s are no exception—particularly this February.

Over the duration of the month, there were 12 water main breaks, a figure significantly higher than the 9.9 breaks village mains have averaged each February since 2001.

But February 2011 was an extraordinary weather month, not only due to the but also because temperatures plunged in the wake of the .

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Despite those extreme temps, however, there was only one severe break during that cold snap.  And two other, smaller breaks that occurred mid-February were fixed “on straight time,” according to Northbrook General Operations Superintendent Paul Risinger.

Straight time meant the department was able to bring the leaks under control without requiring overtime work by village crews. Financially, that was a relief for the village after the many overtime hours it took to clear the roads and sidewalks in the weeks following the blizzard. It was also a welcome surprise, since the cold snap after the storm was followed by a thaw in the middle of the month—just the kind of weather changes that cause water mains to burst.

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Another break, no pun intended, was the fact that broken mains could have occurred while the record-setting storm was in progress. “We had no breaks, that we know of, during the blizzard,” said Risinger. He theorized that the long duration of the cold snap, which lasted for the first half of the month, was easier on water mains.

So, how did the village’s mains hold up during the second half of the month?


“We have had five main breaks since Feb. 15, four of which were shear breaks, which we believe are almost always due to ground movement such as happens during freeze/thaw conditions,” said Utilities Superintendent Ken Gardner. “Historically, over the last 10 years, we have had an average three to four breaks in the latter part of February.”

Gardner, who is responsible for all water- and sewer-related operations in the village, explained that shear breaks rip a water main apart circumferentially, in contrast to holes or splits in pipes that can be caused by corrosion or improper installation decades ago. 

With the work required to deal with the month’s record snowfalls and the water main breaks, Public Works is ready for the next season, Risinger said. 

“It's been consistently cool with a lot of light snowfalls since the big storm. Salt crews have been busy but not a lot of plowing. We're ready for spring!”  

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