Frigid temperatures, aging infrastructure cause water main breaks across North Texas

(UI) – News sources from the Dallas/Fort Worth area are reporting multiple water main breaks in the area caused by frigid temperatures brought on by a polar vortex. The extreme winter temperatures are freezing the water on roadways, creating hazardous conditions.

According to NBCDFW, roughly 25 water main breaks have been reported since the winter storm hit the South on Monday. 10 of the breaks have been dealt with, while the others are still being assessed.

While the city was prepared for icy conditions, low water temperatures cause aging water infrastructure to break. A spokesperson for the City of Fort Worth’s Water Department, Mary Gugliuzza said that crews are on standby to tackles any and all main breaks within hours.

Gugliuzza also said that, while DFW is undergoing a city-wide water infrastructure upgrade, replacing the old cast iron piping system will take time.

"We have over 800 miles of cast iron pipe in our system. So it's going to take, to be honest, decades to get rid of it. But we are working to get rid of it,” she said. "We have a project in design right now to replace some of that large diameter pipe through the downtown area but we have other projects going on in various parts of the city to replace some of the smaller pipe. It's just going to take a lot of time."

This story was originally reported by NBCDFW.

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