DALLAS — As North Texas woke up to another day of frigid temperatures, city crews were faced with a problem: Water main breaks.
A break in Dallas in the 2100 block of North Pearl Street, off Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown, was causing street closures in the area around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Heavy amounts of water could be seen in the area near the break, along the Woodall Rodgers service road.
City officials said the break shut down the westbound lanes of the service road, and they estimated the right and center lanes would remain closed for 10-12 hours. The break was on an eight-inch pipeline, but no businesses or residents were impacted by the break.
Dallas crews worked 15 main breaks Tuesday. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Fort Worth crews were working 10 water main breaks, with 12 others reported and pending repair.
Fort Worth water department spokesperson Mary Gugliuzza says such problems typically come in the days following an arctic blast because it takes water more time than air to cool. Main breaks are likely to continue this week, then.
"It's something we've known, historically, for decades, so we're prepared for when this happens," she said.
Cast iron mains are most susceptible, she said. The city aims to replace its aging infrastructure using revenue generated by a recent water rate increase.
"We have over 800 miles of cast iron pipe in the system," she said. "We're talking decades to solve this issue."
Water in the city's underground pipes typically does not freeze. Instead, the cold flow causes cracks in the mains.
In some cases, workers can clamp or plug the break with special covers. More severe problems require crews to cut, remove and replace sections of split pipe.
Gugliuzza could not estimate how much the repairs will cost until crews assess the total number and severity of breaks. City crews will have to pay its workers overtime to handle the problems though.
Fort Worth also requested help from at least one outside contractor on Tuesday.
"It takes longer to make these repairs in this kind of weather," she added. "We have to worry about the safety of our employees."
North Texas hasn't had to deal with many problems related to ice from the arctic blast that moved into the area Sunday; instead it's been the extremely cold temperatures and wind chills have been the main issue.
North Texas woke up to temperatures in the low teens Tuesday morning, with wind chills making it feel below zero. We're not expected to get above freezing until around midday Wednesday.
While road conditions were mostly clear and dry, many school districts in North Texas made the call to cancel classes Tuesday due to the cold weather.
Temperatures "warm" this week, with afternoons above freezing by Wednesday. Thursday will be pleasant, but another strong cold front arrives knocking temps back to cold for next weekend. Mornings will be well below freezing with afternoons staying chilly. There won't be wintry weather with that front, but it will be cold again.
The following week does not look wintry but does look rainy the first half of the week.
