Water Main Freezes and Bursts in Cold Weather

Many of us experience frozen pipes or water main leaks during the winter months. One out of every five water main issues turns out to be a leaking water main from the outside of the house, and may even leak back into the house as displayed in the video above.

In a recent scenario, the homeowner first experienced water surfacing in the street after back to back days consisting of freezing weather. She first thought it was due to melting snow and quickly realized that there is something bigger going on here.

Water main leak surfacing in street

After she realized that the water was seeping through her foundation wall, she contacted her local plumber who advised her to call a water main and sewer specialist.

Harris Water was on site the very next day and began excavating in the roadway to first close the tap connection and stop the leak.

Roadway excavation

A tap connection is the valve that connects the property owner’s water line to the city water line and is used to stop the water from entering the homeowner’s water line.

Water main tap connection

Now that the water was turned off, the on-site crew can continue on the other excavations to be made. Once completed the crew will begin making tunnels below ground. Once the tunnels are completed, the new cooper pipe is installed from one hole to the next.