BONDUEL, Wis. (WFRV) – Cold temperatures are making their way to northeast Wisconsin, and that means the increase in chances that water main breaks could occur. In Bonduel, on Wednesday morning, it could be seen as a sign of things to come.
And the reason that water main breaks occur is exactly what you might think.
“The cold and the frost line and the movement of the rocks underneath the earth and stuff like that, putting pressure points on our water lines through the cold, and what happens if forces, it essentially creates pinch points and cracks, causing a water main break,” said the Village of Bonduel’s Director of Municipal Operations, Jesse Rankin.
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Rankin said his crew was ready to go and spend four to five hours cleaning up and fixing the pipe along Legion Street.
They know this won’t be the last time this winter.
“We are prepared, we have it scheduled to have it in our budget to get this fixed, because we know we are going to have some through historical data, we are lucky enough to have a company in town that does have an excavating company that comes and helps us fix main breaks,” said Rankin.
This was the second water main break for the village so far this year. It affected five homes and the local post office by not allowing them to have water.
Finding where the break is is half the battle in restoring the affected areas’ water.
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“Once you start getting the frost and everything shifts and they start breaking, and then we have to go down, dig it up and find out where the break actually is, put a band aid on it, essentially it is a stainless steel sleeve, put it on the break and tighten it down, and stop the leak,” Rankin said.
Green Bay Utility says that the city is not worried about the upcoming cold snap set to hit our area. They say that the current frost depths shouldn’t change too much.
Current frost depth measurements in Green Bay indicate:
• Grassy areas: approximately 1 to 1.5 feet
• Under pavement: approximately 2 to 2.5 feet
Most water mains in Green Bay are installed well below these depths at six feet or deeper. Historically, utilities begin to see increased frost-related impacts when frost depths approach four feet or deeper.
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Along with that, the DePere water department is sending out reminders on how to keep household pipes from freezing.
Make sure there is adequate heat in your home, add more insulation to possible problem areas, and seal up any gaps or cracks in your foundation.
