I-Team: Cleveland Water had 400+ water main breaks in weeks

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered a stunning number of water main breaks along the Cleveland water system, with more than 400 just in recent weeks.

We’ve seen city trucks getting stuck in sinkholes, drivers stuck in street collapses and water gushing all over the streets. So we investigated the number of local water main breaks.

We had noticed some of these scenes night after night.

The I-Team asked Cleveland Water for a list of water main breaks in the first six weeks of the year. Again, the list showed more than 400 breaks.

The records show many of the locations in the city — east side and west side — but many more throughout Cuyahoga County.

And it didn’t stop there. Records show breaks in Sagamore Hills, Brunswick, Richfield and Macedonia.

We also spotted three breaks along West 159th Street in Cleveland.

A woman walking her dog told us, “There have been a couple of them, like, right around the corner.”

A resident on his porch said, “The first one flooded, made the street look like the Cuyahoga [River] or something.”

We also asked for the size of each water main break. We found many labeled 6 inches. But we checked each one, and we found four dozen involved pipes at least 10 inches. That group included the biggest that we saw: 24-inch pipes.

“I wouldn’t say its reasonable, but it’s expected,” said Councilman Brian Kazy, who leads Cleveland City Council’s Utilities Committee.

“We do spend about $25 million a year upgrading the water system. There’s a plan in place — gonna take a lot of money, gonna take a lot of years.”

Cleveland Water issued a statement, saying, in part, “During the winter months, Cleveland Water averages 5 to 7 breaks daily and even more if we experience an extreme cold spell. That’s up from an average of 3 to 5 main breaks during the rest of the year. This increase is common for water systems similar in age and climate to Cleveland Water.

“As the 10th largest public water system in the country, Cleveland Water maintains more than 5,300 miles of water mains throughout our 640-square-mile service area.”

So, 400 water main breaks in weeks. Maybe you shouldn’t be surprised — unless you’re the driver ending up stuck in a sinkhole.