Crews Deal With 2 Large Water Main Breaks In Denver Metro Area
DENVER (CBS4) - Four water main breaks were reported early Thursday morning, and Denver Water says two of them will cause delays throughout the day.
A 16-inch diameter water main broke near Sheridan Boulevard and 17th Avenue on Thursday morning.
Traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction along Sheridan while crews work to repair the break.
Officials with Denver Water said they expect those traffic closures to be in place through much of the day.
Denver Water said three homes will be without water services until the repair is made.
Crews were also working on another major water main break along Federal Boulevard and 41st Avenue. At that location, a 6-inch diameter main broke. The northbound lanes of Federal between 41st and 43rd will be closed throughout the day. Two residents and two commercial buildings will be without water during those repairs.
Denver Water said when this happens, their first move is to shut down the valves in the area to stop the flow of water that can damage roadways.
"It then takes time to get locates out here to make sure we are safe before we dig, then we will make sure the pipe is fixed as quickly as possible," explained Denver Water spokesman Travis Thompson. "We still then have to come in and make sure we fix any damage on the road that caused that break."
Denver Water said they won't know the cause of these breaks until the pipes are located.
In addition to those two large breaks, crews responded to a few smaller ones overnight near 2336 Osceola St. and near 3935 W. Byron Place. About a dozen customers will be affected by those issues.
Denver Water said they don't believe the breaks are related.
Makenzie O'Keefe joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2017. Read her bio, follow her on Twitter at @makenziepokeefe or email her your story ideas.
