Amid today's dangerous heat, some people in Fort Worth went without water as city crews rushed to repair water main breaks.
The city said it's averaging three breaks a day in the last week. And as the summer heats up, the problem is likely to increase.
On Fort Worth’s south side Wednesday, it took crews about six hours to get water restored after a cast-iron main broke near Fair Park Boulevard and Seminary Drive.
“People are using more water, so we’re pumping more, putting more pressure on the system and that can have an impact as well,” said water department spokesperson Mary Gugliuzza.
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Gugliuzza said the city’s responded to 53 breaks over the last 30 days due in part to increased water use.
“Kids want to go out and play in it and people want to keep their lawns and plants alive, so they use more of it,” she said.
It’s a problem that plagued Fort Worth neighborhoods last summer.
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“We just capture all the water we can, fill the bathtub up, get a couple of containers, make sure we have drinking water. It's summertime. It's hot,” said resident Darron Brown at the time.
Then breaks surged amid drought conditions, accounting for a large chunk of the 1,037 breaks the city responded to.
Most occurred in neighborhoods where aging cast-iron pipes have yet to be replaced.
So far this year, the city’s repaired 201 breaks.
Gugliuzza credits conditions that are less dry than last. Still, she said summer is just getting underway.
When water main breaks do occur, the city urges people to avoid driving through water-covered roads, because there could be a hole drivers might not be able to see.
They also urge people to report breaks as quickly as possible.
