Old pipes, bitter cold blamed for several recent pipe bursts

Add Us On GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google

DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - Another water pipe burst during the morning hours on Thursday, February 3 in the Spirit Valley neighborhood and experts say it likely won’t be the last.

According to the city, workers respond to about 150 water pipe breaks each year.

The majority of the calls happen between February and April.

The bitter cold temperatures create a deep layer of frost on the ground causing old cast iron pipes to leak and break more easily. When the water pressure increases, additional breaks can happen like the pipe burst in Morgan Park.

Chief engineer Eric Shaffer said things have improved significantly over the past several years.

Shaffer explained “I can say that things are a lot better than they were five or six years ago and we are getting more pipe put into the ground as well as updating our booster station. We currently have a water booster station under construction also.”

The water booster station will transport water from the lower levels into a reservoir giving water to the hillside neighborhood.

A 2017 water rate increase is also funding the replacement of old water pipes in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.