The frigid winter temperatures have caused a record number of water main breaks, according to the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA). It responded to 224 in January — the most in one month since January of 2018, and more than double from last year during the same period.
“Our crews have been nothing short of heroic,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz in a statement. “Working through the night in freezing temperatures, often in brutal conditions, they are tirelessly repairing breaks and restoring water service to our customers as quickly as possible.”
Severe main breaks can cause streets to flood, and entire neighborhoods and businesses to be without service.
SCWA Director of Communications and External Affairs Dan Dubois encouraged residents to report abnormal water activity.
“We do need our customers to report if they see something that could be a main break,” Dubois said in a phone interview. “So if you see pooling water in the streets and there's no identifiable source…call 631-698-9500 and let us know what you see because we'll dispatch one of our customer service technicians out to that site,” he said.
Dubois said the SCWA is also replacing older, more brittle cast iron pipes with new pipes made with modern materials.
Currently, over half of the underground pipes are still cast iron.
