Columbus officials address water main breaks, efforts to repair

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther spoke with media Friday morning about the large number of water main breaks they’ve seen in the city following the recent winter storm and frigid temperatures and what they’re doing to address them.

“This has probably got to be the greatest number of water main breaks we’ve had in recent memory,” he said.

The mayor said there were about 60 breaks as of mid-morning Friday across the city. He said this is the next stage in the battle against the recent winter storm.

“Our snow warriors have done a great job and have been out all week, around the clock, clearing our roads,” he said. “And now, with these frigid temperatures to follow up, we’ve got main breaks.”

If there’s issues in your neighborhood, he encourages people to report them to 311.

“We got a frigid weekend ahead of us, so please report them as soon as you notice them, and we’ll get teams out as quickly as possible,” he said. “But this is going to be an ongoing battle for at least the next several days until it warms up a little bit.”

Based on the forecast, the mayor said there’s going to be even more over the coming days.

Ginther said, from what he’s heard from the Department of Public Safety, most of the roads in neighborhoods are now passable.

“I think we’re on our second, third run of the priority three residential areas,” he said. “Obviously, in situations where there’s a water main break, that’s a whole different situation, but my understanding that for the schools the last couple of days, it was more about the frigid temperatures than neighborhood residential areas not being passable.”

Brian Haemmerle, assistant administrator for Columbus Water & Power Division of Water, confirmed they have six to seven of their own crews working right now as well as two contractors with multiple crews. Each crew, he said, is working to handle about two leaks a day amid the freezing temperatures.

When prioritizing leaks, they look to determine if it’s an emergency situation, whether people are out of water, whether it’s causing property damage, etc.

Their goal is to have everything repaired within 14 days. They are working seven days a week.

“You know, the seasons change, but you know, there are going to be challenges,” Ginther said. “And that’s why I’m so proud of these folks, you know, out here in these temperatures and these conditions, working together, putting our neighbors first. It is a significant challenge, and I’m glad we’ve got some of the country’s best amongst our city workers leading the way.”