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It’s common to hear people blame a spike in water main breaks during the winter months on the colder temperatures. That may be true on the surface, but there’s actually some “science” involved.
While the temperature on the thermometer drops outside, the temperature of the water flowing through the pipes is typically warmer. It’s when the water temperature begins falling that things have a greater chance of springing a leak. Water’s maximum density is 39 degrees, and once it reaches that temperature, the water molecules start to expand. That creates pressure on the pipes- up to hundreds of pounds of pressure!
Another factor in how many main breaks Louisville Water experiences during winter is ground temperature. Think of the ground that surrounds the water main as a “blanket” that provides insulation. A cycle of freezing and thawing leads to friction in the earth and can cause the pipes to shift. The material of the pipe also makes a difference. Louisville Water’s distribution water mains (those smaller than 16 inches in diameter) are a combination of either ductile iron or cast iron. We’ve found that cast iron pipes can break more easily. The temperature drops and swings intensify existing “weak spots” which can lead to breaks.
Louisville Water has a large focus on investing in our infrastructure to keep Louisville Pure Tap® flowing into the next century. Our Main Replacement & Rehabilitation Program prioritizes water mains that are susceptible to breaks.
“Our goal in previous years was to invest nearly $20 Million a year in the program to replace the worst mains. We used a multifactor calculation to determine the mains to be replaced. It considers the costs to repair them, the number of breaks along the main, the number of customers impacted, the type of road, and a few other determining factors,” explained Director of Engineering Jeremy Raney.
He said the frequency of water main breaks is a measure used across the industry to indicate how well a system is performing.
“The goal is to be at or below 15 main breaks per 100 miles of pipe and we met that goal in 2024,” Raney shared.
Louisville Water crews repaired fewer than 650 main breaks and just over 100 leaks in 2024, and many times, customers never lost water service. Continued investments in our infrastructure allow us to keep delivering high-quality drinking water to nearly a million people every day.
