FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Tuesday’s water main break on Coliseum Boulevard, which shut down the street for most of the day, is indicative of a larger issue Fort Wayne’s aging infrastructure is facing.
“We expect so many breaks for every hundred miles of pipe, and we’re above them right now,” said Matthew Wirtz, Deputy Director of City Utilities.
The City of Fort Wayne has been fixing hundreds more water breaks than they believe they should. 150 to 200 water breaks a year is considered average for Fort Wayne, according to City Utilities. However, for the past few years, 400 water breaks per year has been the new normal. Wirtz said most of these breaks occur when clay soil expands and contracts in exceptionally cold and wet winters or hot and dry summers. Most water main breaks occur in neighborhoods rather than busy city streets, so the majority of breaks are less likely to impact traffic like the Coliseum Boulevard break…