Cold Snap Causes 3 Water Main Breaks in Duluth

DULUTH, Minn.– The cold snap has been causing other headaches for the city of Duluth’s Utility Operations Department.

Crews responded to three water main breaks Friday, leaving some without water temporarily.

Crews worked on a break by the 27-hundred block of Piedmont Avenue after reports of water gushing in the street. Workers spent hours trying to get through the frozen ground to the broken pipe 4 feet down.

They say it’s important to report main breaks quickly to avoid bigger problems down the line.

“When a water main breaks, that water erupts onto the street, so that causes sometimes flooding and icing downhill from us,” said Chris Kleist, Utility Operations Supervisor for the city of Duluth. “It’s just slower. The ground is frozen, machines break, things aren’t made to operate in this type of weather.”

Water mains also broke at the 49-hundred block of Colorado Street and the intersection of North 14th Avenue East and East 10th Street