SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Sioux City is on track to see an increase in the number of water main breaks for the second year in a row.
The city had 39 breaks in the first nine weeks of the year, far more than in previous years, the Sioux City Journal reported.
The city’s underground utilities superintendent, Jon O’Brien, said deeper freezing and other soil conditions often contribute to main breaks. He said the number of breaks is hard to forecast.
“You can’t really predict what year and in what main you’re going to have issues,” O’Brien said. “It depends on the soil conditions and what’s around it that causes a main break.”
A Jan. 17 water main break on an access road near West High School was among the highest-profile breaks this year. The break temporarily closed West High and West Middle and led to a more than two-day boil advisory for many west side residents.
Sioux City has 474 miles of water mains and averaged around 22 main breaks per 100 miles last year. That’s below the estimated national average of 25 to 30 breaks per 100 miles.
Sioux City’s budget for the fiscal year anticipates maintaining the water mains to prevent their collective age from increasing.
O’Brien said each year city officials try to determine which replacement projects will carry the largest benefit for the city.
“It’s an ongoing battle,” O’Brien said. “We’re a large city with a lot of water mains in the ground.”
More than 30 percent of the city’s existing water mains are more than 60 years old, the age at which the mains are typically in need of replacement, according to the city’s utilities department.
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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com
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