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There have been 14 water main breaks in Westminster in 10 days

There have been 14 separate water main breaks affecting residential lines and larger transmission mains. The bulk of the breaks happened June 12 and June 17.
Credit: KUSA

KUSA – In just 10 days, the city of Westminster dealt with the same number of water main breaks it typically handles in six months.

There have been 14 separate water main breaks affecting residential lines and larger transmission mains. The bulk of the breaks happened June 12 and June 17.

Credit: KUSA

“There’s a little bit of commonality in time of the day that they’ve occurred and with a pattern of a pressure increase followed by a rapid pressure decrease,” said Max Kirschbaum, director of Public Works and Utilities for the city of Westminster.

Westminster is divided up into what are called “pressure zones.” Kirschbaum said the 14 breaks occurred in Pressure Zone 1, the city’s largest pressure zone that stretches north to south across the city.

On June 12, crews responded to water line breaks at 120th Avenue and Mariposa Street, 120th Avenue and Federal Boulevard, 112th Avenue and Stuart Street, Turnpike Drive and Barr Lane, and 72nd Avenue and Hooker Street.

Credit: KUSA

On Sunday afternoon, two breaks happened along Sheridan Blvd. at 76th and 77th avenues. Additional breaks occurred at 76th Avenue and Winona Court, 107th Avenue and Wolff Street, and 106th Avenue and Johnson Street.

Public Works crews were still working along Sheridan Boulevard late Monday morning into early afternoon to replace a 12-inch water line.

Kirschbaum said the city was “aggressively investigating” what led to the pressure surge and drop that ultimately caused the 14 breaks.

Credit: KUSA

“Hopefully, today we are zeroing in on what we think is the most probable cause and we’ll be implementing some change to keep that pressure more even,” he said.

Crews will be focusing on one of the city’s water storage distribution areas near 104th Avenue and Federal Boulevard Kirschbaum said they’d be looking at valves within those storage tanks.

While aging pipes can play a factor in breaks, Kirschbaum said most of the city’s water distribution system is less than 60 years old.

Water main breaks happen this time of year when temperatures rise and irrigation demands increase. After 14 incidents in 10 days, Westminster could certainly use a break of a different kind.

Credit: KUSA

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