Utility crews were called out about 1:30 this morning to repair a broken water main on Monroe Avenue.
A police officer spotted water running down Long Avenue, just off of Lexington Avenue. The break was a six-inch cast iron pipe main.
“This is typical this time of year,” said Mike Flynn, general manager of Winchester Municipal Utilities (WMU).
“It was the freeze and thaw effect of the ground that caused it to break.”
This incident was the 20th water line breaks for WMU this year.
The most significant was in January when a 12-inch main broke at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Fairview Avenue, he said. The water was shut off to about 300 WMU customers. The pipe was repaired with a sleeve and new pipe valving.
Flynn said 75 percent of leaks are fixed with repair clamps, like the break that took place this morning.
“In January, there was so much ground movement with the fluctuating temperatures,” Flynn said. “Fifty to 60 percent of our system is cast iron pipes. With the ground movement, there is a shearing of those pipes, which will cause leaks.”
The water did freeze to the ground, which caused some slick areas along side roads.
Crews installed a clamp on the Monroe Avenue water line to make the repair and were finished about 5 a.m.
