Regent water main on city's 'short list' for repairs - WKOW

Regent water main on city's 'short list' for repairs | News | wkow.com

MADISON (WKOW) -- The 110-year-old water main that broke on Regent Street is on the city's "short list" for repairs.

Marcus Pearson with the city's Water Utility Department says the exact cause of the main break hasn't been determined, but its age and the weather are top factors.

Pearson says the main is a cast iron pipe from 1914. The freezing and thawing that comes with winter weather isn't good for any pipes, but especially one of that age. A main break happened in the same spot last year damaging pavement.

"We are aware of the increase in main breaks in the area," Pearson said. "This specific area of Regent Street is actually on city engineering's short list to be addressed with city and utility work within the next three years or so."

Thankfully, businesses on that block say they were minimally impacted by the break Monday morning. The biggest issue they noted was it being a bit harder for employees and customers to get in.

By 5 p.m. Monday evening all traffic lanes were back open and there were no more service vehicles in the area.