x
Breaking News
More () »

Water main break strands residents and cars

News of a water main break can be especially alarming when air temperatures barely approach zero degrees.
Car on icy driveway near Kirkwood and Eastern in Davenport 1-7-14 (WQAD Photo)
Water main break strands residents and cars

News of a water main break can be especially alarming when air temperatures barely approach zero degrees.

That’s just what happened in Davenport.

Tasha Greenwood says she had to miss work because her car was stuck in ice, several inches thick, after water poured into her driveway from a nearby broken water main.

Lisa Reisen, spokesperson for Iowa American Water, confirms a 12-inch main did break sometime during the overnight hours between Monday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 7, 2014.

StormTrack 8 Meteorologist Terry Swails says the overnight low temperature dropped to 10 degrees below zero.

Reisen says Iowa American sent in a backhoe to dig to make the repair, but the backhoe broke down because of extremely cold temperatures.  That delayed repair work until about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

It took repair crews nearly six hours to locate and repair the break.  Water pressure was reduced, but not completely shut off to those affected in the area of Eastern Avenue between Locust and Kirkwood.

Riesen said the supervisor at the repair site reported the main had been repaired just before 3 p.m. Tuesday.  Iowa American crews were working to clean up ice that developed as a result of the break, including the thick ice that stranded Greenwood’s car.

(editor’s note:  We erroneously first identified the utility involved as Ameren when it is actually Iowa American Water.  We apologize for the error.)

Before You Leave, Check This Out