Water main breaks continue to spike in Detroit despite warmer weather | FOX 2 Detroit

Water main breaks continue to spike in Detroit despite warmer weather

On the first official day of summer, Detroit residents continue to deal with the spike in water main breaks throughout the city.  One large water main was impacting a neighborhood on the city's west side at Plymouth and Wyoming Wednesday.

"The crew was out here about an hour ago this afternoon, they were able to isolate it redirect the water service so that people would still have water," said Bryan Peckinpaugh, Detroit Water and Sewerage. "We spend about $100 million a year on water and sewer upgrades.  We’ve been doing that since 2019, we have a large city geographically, it’s going to take time to get to every neighborhood."

Which is frustrating for many residents, as FOX 2 received several calls about the Plymouth break. And while the water is back on now, people were without water for a significant amount of time.
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DWSD says crews have been working on the issue since it was first reported.

"It was about six to eight hours, but some folks, seniors, we did provide water to them," Peckinpaugh said.

So, why all the breaks, is the question.

"It’s not really about the air temperature," he said. "But the Detroit River, when it gets hot dramatically, that water is running through pipes and aging infrastructure, it can burst those pipes. During the winter months when that cold water from the Detroit river runs through, and it dramatically changes the temperature, that’s what we’re seeing here."

Another neighborhood was dealing with the same issue on Lockwood in Southwest Detroit. Tim Czajka, 85, lives on the 3000 block and says he’s been without water since Memorial Day.

"I go and bathe at my son’s house," he said. "My sons have been taking my clothes to wash, the neighbor has a rainwater barrel that I’ve been using to flush my toilet"

Czajka says luckily he’s an experienced camper and knows how to be resourceful. But he says he has zero plans to renew his insurance through American Water Resources, which is supposed to provide pipe warranty for property owners.

"They promise hassle-free claims, expert repairs, freedom from costly expenses, 24/7 customer lines," he said.

FOX 2:."And do you agree with this?"

"No ma’am.""

A third-party plumbing and restoration service is scheduled to come by on July 5th and that’s if a city inspector is available to be on site. But given the busy construction season..there’s no guarantee.

The city expects to have the west side water break fixed by Thursday.

Detroit