LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Across the city of Lima, there were a total of seven water main breaks on Wednesday.
According to the utilities department, yesterday's leaks led to 3 to 4 million gallons of water being lost. The sudden change of temperature from last week's arctic blast to the 40s of this week causes the soil to shift, which causes cracks in the pipes, especially some that are around a hundred years old. The city manages about 500 miles of water main pipes, so they often rely on residents to report possible leaks. Crews were out all day into the night doing repairs last night.
"Sometimes you can just take a band, a stainless steel band, and wrap it around there and bolt it in and that fixes it, and that was good for probably maybe four of the seven leaks. But three of them were pretty big leaks, so we actually had to cut out a piece of pipe because the pipe split all along the top," explained Mike Caprella, director of utilities for the City of Lima.
The City of Lima gradually replaces water lines every year. This year they will be replacing pipes on streets in the area of Calumet Avenue.
