Aging infrastructure is blamed for two separate water main breaks in Phoenix. Crews were forced to temporarily shut water off to homes around 2 nd Street and Bethany Home and 7 th Avenue and McDowell. Victoria Welch with the City of Phoenix said the majority of breaks are happening in pipes that were installed more than 80 years ago.
"In the City of Phoenix, it’s because of the older pipes," Welch said. "Recently, earlier in the summer, we had five breaks in one week and most of the breaks were from pipes that were from the 1930s."
Unlike the McDowell break, the Bethany Home break occurred in a pipe from the 1960s. Welch said the city has a pipe replacement program. Unfortunately, the pipes are only replaced after a break.
