Nashville expect water main breaks to increase with weather impact

Disruptions to some Nashville residents’ water is alerting them to a likely much larger issue that could emerge starting at the end of this week, just on the heels of repairs to roadways and the electric grid.

Metro Water Services director Scott Potter addressed the community about his department’s current and future challenges at a Jan. 27 briefing with Nashville officials on the response in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern.

“We have numerous crews ready to go, contractors ready to go, to respond to those breaks, but I’ll ask everyone’s patience to assist us in getting those repairs made,” Potter said. Potter and Metro Water Services communications specialist Sonia Allman explained the department has so far dispatched repair teams to five sites to address water breaks, and it’s preparing responses to seven other reported breaks.

The current breaks are all to residential water lines, though Allman and Potter said the future issues will be to the city’s public lines. The city’s public lines will suffer greater damage as the ground thaws and shifts, potentially collapsing after those pipes have become brittle with cold river water coursing through them.

“As temperatures start to warm up today it will help NDOT clear our roads and help (Nashville Electric Service) get to more lines, but we will be closely watching our water system,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in the Jan. 27 briefing.

Potter urged Nashvillians to report breaks by calling 615-862-4600. A map of current and reported outages are available online. Allman explained a first responder assesses the scene before Metro Water Services dispatches a maintenance crew.

In the five breaks the department has responded to so far, the repair crew closed the valves on either end of the break “so we can redirect water,” Allman said in an interview. That can sometimes affect just one house or dozens, she said.

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Unless a customer experiences a break, Allman said, residents without power should keep their faucets dripping. They also shouldn’t be putting antifreeze in their toilets as some have suggested on social media, she said. 

Meanwhile, the Metro Water Services pump stations in Oak Hill and Sherwood Drive are offline due to power outages and roadway obstructions. That is creating water pressure issues, which is also what is causing issues in the West Meade and Love Circle areas, said Potter and Allman. There are also potential issues in Joelton, Potter said.

The department’s emergency response will operate around the clock starting Thursday and is prepared to utilize additional first responders and storm water crews to assist, Allman said. “Right now, the focus is the power and the roadways, water will likely be the end of the week and the beginning of next week when we begin seeing the most of our issues,” she said.