Water Main Breaks Have Record-Setting Year in 2012 (Chart)

The village of Western Springs released a report detailing the number and suspected cause of all the water breaks that occurred during 2012.

There were 66 water main breaks last year, the most the village has seen in the past 30 years. The second worst year for water main breaks was 1990, when there were 60. There were only three breaks in 1993, the fewest in the 30 years chronicled in the report.

The village attributed the high number of breaks in 2012 to drought, high temparatures and, along transmission line No. 4 and Hillgrove Avenue, to the water plant project. The last break associated with the project happened at the end of February 2013, the report said.

The chart above shows the correlation between the amount of annual rainfall in Western Springs with the number of water main breaks during a given year. Note: The chart is not visible on mobile devices.

Click on the map in the photo box to the right to see a larger version.

View the full report on the village's website.