Freezing then warming temps blamed for Pittsburgh-area water main breaks
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More than 700 PWSA customers in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood were expected to be without water or have low water pressure Sunday night because of a water main break, and other breaks were reported in Homestead and West Mifflin.
Officials with Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water Co. attributed the breaks to record-low temperatures Sunday that preceded a warming trend that expected to continue through Wednesday.
The line breaks included one on Lowrie Street in Troy Hill that crews were working to fix Sunday night, according to Rachel Rampa, public affairs coordinator for PWSA.
PWSA crews are expected to work until about 9 p.m. making repairs to the following streets: Ley, Lowrie, Cowley, Fleck, Tours, Rialto, Mt. Troy Road, Niggel, Straubs Lane, Linedertafel, Veronica, Croft, Lautner and Spring Garden Avenue.
More than 700 customers residing on those streets are expected to experience no or low water pressure while repairs are made.
Water buffaloes have been placed at the ballfield on Gardner Street at Herman Street.
Temperatures Sunday morning dropped to near zero degrees for most of the region and then warmed up to 36 degrees by Sunday night.
Trib news partner WPXI reported a water main break Friday on Parkfield Street in Carrick continued to impact residents in Carrick over the weekend.
Pennsylvania American Water said crews are scheduled to make repairs Monday.
Crews salted the street Sunday and it was unclear if any residents were without water.
Pennsylvania American also issued water main break alerts listed on its website Sunday evening for the following areas: East 7th and 14th Avenues in Homestead and the following areas in West Mifflin: Camp Hollow, Village, Blueberry, Blackberry, Lebanon School, Helena, Holiday, Peach, Cherry, Center, Sarah and Oak.
The breaks began around 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Affected customers wereadvised when water service is restored customers may experience discolored water and are instructed to run the cold tap only for about 5 minutes until the water runs clear.
The emergency repairs were expected to take about ten hours and conclude by 5 p.m., the company said.