During the week of March 9th, the Village has experienced a number of water main breaks located in and around the Old Town Subdivision. While it is not uncommon for the number of water main breaks to increase in the spring due to the expansion and contraction of the ground during freeze/thaw, the number of breaks experienced in this small area is unusual.
The breaks have been at the following locations:
-Burlington Avenue and Woodland Avenue-Elm Street between Lawn Avenue and Grand Avenue
-47th Street and Lawn Avenue-47th Street between Grand Avenue and Woodland Avenue
Old Town South Breaks Locations"
At this time the Public Works Department has no specific cause to the occurrence of these breaks and their proximity together. There appears to be no apparent evidence indicating any changes in the system in this area.
It can be noted that the age of the pipe in this area is quite old and the construction dates for the locations that had breaks were from 1937 and from 1924.
The Public Works Department strives to notify residents as quickly as possible when a water main break occurs, however due to various factors pertaining to the break a notification on the Village's website may not occur until a few hours after the initial break has been discovered. Before any excavation can occur the Village must issue a J.U.L.I.E. request for underground utilities to be located by ComED, Nicor, and other telecommunications firms. The response from those firms ranges from 1-2 hours and only after that time may our crews begin excavation of the site to determine the severity of a water main break. The shutdown of water service is not always required for the repair of a break and ff at all possible crews will attempt to leave water services online while a J.U.L.I.E. request is ongoing, but if it is determined that other critical infrastructure such as the sewer system, roadway surface or other utilities may be negatively impacted the Public Works Department will shut down the main to protect the surrounding area. Crews will attempt to notify affected residents in person if it is feasible to do so and notifications will be posted on the Village website as soon as is practicable.
The Village thanks all of the residents in this area for their patience and we understand that service disruptions never come at a convenient time. The Public Works Department works as quickly as possible to bring all services back online as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
For any additional questions, please feel free to call or email the Village.
Matthew Supert
Director of Municipal Services708-246-1800 x 200
msupert@wsprings.com