ST. LOUIS — More than 50 water main breaks reported in the past month — many concentrated in the southwestern parts of St. Louis — had residents at times showering with buckets, pooling reserves into their bathtubs and calling for answers from the city.
About a third of the breaks occurred near a 4-mile stretch that crosses through the Southampton neighborhood. And they come as residents face a rate hike that the city water commissioner said would help prevent breaks in the future with repairs and maintenance.
“Somebody do something and bring our taxes down and fix all these,” said Southampton resident Mark Stewart. “They should’ve had a crew going to different parts of the city fixing hotspots.”
Curtis Skouby, the city’s water commissioner, said the swath of breaks occurred after a 20-inch main broke across from LeGrand’s in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood on June 10. They occurred in an “intermediate pressure zone,” based on elevation, that covers the southwestern portion of the city. The other breaks were spread across the city.
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When a large main break occurs in an intermediate zone, there’s a sudden drop in pressure, and the utility increases water flow to the zone, Skouby said. This surge can affect vulnerable parts of the system.
”The oscillating pressure is going up and down, kind of like a water hammer,” Skouby said. “It’s not good for pipes, and so it found weak spots and those gave out.”
When breaks occur in intermediate zones, it’s tricky to maintain water pressure, Skouby said. Also, he said the city’s Water Division can see an increase in breaks amid drought conditions; the ground had been dry for a while before the June break, as the region experienced reduced rainfall in May.
Water main breaks are unpredictable, Skouby said, and the age of pipes isn’t a determining factor.
Earl Bond, of Southampton, said this is the first summer he’s noticed breaks popping up.
One broke near Bond’s home on Bancroft Avenue home a month ago, he said, sending water about a foot high, flooding down the street. On Monday, debris on Bancroft Avenue was still lodged below a parked vehicle that he said hadn’t been moved since the break.
Crews quickly came to make repairs, Bond said, shutting off water for a few hours. He filled up his bathtub, he said, so he could still flush the toilet.
About a mile away on Delor Street, a main broke on June 15, said Megan Durocher, who lives there. She had just moved to St. Louis from Chicago.
”I was just like, ‘Is this a routine thing?’” said Durocher.
Durocher, 38, lost water for a few hours, she said. She hadn’t yet figured out how to turn off the water in her duplex, so she used the window as a time to install a valve on her toilet.
”Obviously, that was risky because it could have turned back on at any time, and we could have had water everywhere,” Durocher said.
Another mile away, Ken Kuntz, 66, said he noticed water gushing down both sides of the 5700 block of Finkman Street about three weeks ago.
”So I looked out there, and I seen the water bubbling all up,” and water pressure dropped, said Kuntz, who’s lived there since 1994.
The break leaked until it was repaired three or four days later, and crews filled the hole in the ground left by the break within two weeks, he said.
Mark Stewart, who has lived on the 5500 block of Nottingham Avenue since 1993, said he’s noticed the main breaks popping up all over the city. A break occurred on the blocks to the left and right of his home.
Stewart, a plumber, said the city shouldn’t be waiting for emergencies but rather repair a little at a time.
Skouby said a 44% water rate increase that aldermen approved last month would help the division prevent breaks from happening in the future. It will allow the division to cover operation and maintenance expenses, he said, and make capital improvements, including water main replacement.
”We too often are responding to events,” Skouby said. “Additional funding will help us to take action proactively to address it, and maybe repair some of the older mains that are problematic.”
Photos: City of St. Louis deals with aging water infrastructure, wave of water main breaks
A motorcyclist, right, pauses before moving past a water main break at the intersection of Queens and Lilian avenues in the Mark Twain neighborhood of north St. Louis on Thursday, July 6, 2023. St. Louis police officers cordoned off streets because the gushing water was strong enough to reach power lines high above the breakage. Last month, the Board of Aldermen passed a plan to levy one of the largest water rate increases in recent history to pay for long-needed upgrades to the century-old system. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Tim Reynolds, treatment plant supervisor at the city of St. Louis' Chain of Rocks Pumping station, helps illuminate a continuously leaking valve on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, beneath the filtration tanks at the water plant during a tour for journalists. Officials there say the valves never stop leaking clean water; so the engineers manage pressure despite the loss. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
A leaking valve spews a constant stream of water on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, beneath the filtration tanks at the city of St. Louis' Chain of Rocks Pumping station during a tour for journalists. Officials there say many of the valves never stop leaking clean water; so the engineers manage pressure despite the loss. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Steve Boyer, left, and Josh Owens with Bates Utility Company repair a water main break on Monday, June 12, 2023, at the intersection of Eiler Street and South Compton Avenue in St. Louis. A city spokesperson said the location was one of 16 water main breaks throughout neighborhoods in South St. Louis, that were caused by a chain reaction following last Friday's break at Donovan and Lansdowne -- due to changes in pressure.
Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
A St. Louis water division worker helps co-workers search for a shutoff valve while working at an 8-inch water main break outside 6707 Plainview Avenue at Chippewa Street on Monday, June 12, 2023. A city spokesperson said the location was one of 16 water main breaks throughout neighborhoods in South St. Louis, that were caused by a chain reaction following last Friday's break at Donovan and Lansdowne -- due to changes in pressure. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
A St. Louis water division worker helps co-workers search for a shut-off valve while working at an 8-inch water main break outside 6707 Plainview Avenue at Chippewa Street on Monday, June 12, 2023. A city spokesperson said the location was one of many water main breaks throughout neighborhoods in South St. Louis, caused by a chain reaction following last Friday's break at Donovan and Lansdowne.
The street remains closed where a water main break occurred Sunday on Monday, June 12, 2023, at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Jamieson Avenue in St. Louis. Photo by Christine Tannous, ctannous@post-dispatch.com
The street remains closed where a water main break occurred Sunday on Monday, June 12, 2023, at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Jamieson Avenue in St. Louis. Photo by Christine Tannous, ctannous@post-dispatch.com
John Warner leads his sons, Will, 8, and Patrick, 3, through rushing water on Friday, June 9, 2023, on his way to LaGrand Grocery Store during a break of a 20-inch water main in the 4400 block of Donovan Avenue on St. Louis' south side. The mayor's office says the break illustrates the need to raise city water rates to fix aging infrastructure.
"As long as the water's not coming to my feet."Gordon Hartwieger has lunch outside LaGrand's Grocery Store and Deli on Friday, June 9, 2023, during a 20-inch water main in the 4400 block of Donovan Ave. on St. Louis' south side. "As long as the water's not coming to my feet," he said. The mayor's office says the break illustrates the need to raise city water rates to fix and aging infrastructure. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Gina Mastrantonio, above left, waits for St. Louis city water crews to repair a 20-inch water main break on Friday, June 8, 2023, outside the Bellemont Apartments in the 4400 block of Donovan Ave. on St. Louis' south side. Mastrantonio and her neighbors were without water in their apartments due to the break. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com
A broken water main floods Highway 40 (Interstate 64) near the intersection of Tamm and Oakland avenues in Dogtown on Friday, May 12, 2023. Two children and a woman were rescued from a minivan that stalled in the rising water in the eastbound lanes of the highway, according to St. Louis Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Garon Mosby. The fire captain said the family was not injured.
A broken water main floods Highway 40 (Interstate 64) near the intersection of Tamm and Oakland avenues in Dogtown on Friday, May 12, 2023. The occupants of one flooded minivan were taken from the scene as the city water department worked to shut the main. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
