Frigid, harsh winter weather was a major culprit in yet another local municipality having to deal with a significant water main break issue.
The latest example:
A 12-inch line along Vrooman Road in the Town of Lewiston burst Friday morning impacting water service to more than 100 homes, said Supervisor Steve Broderick.
Lewiston has joined such municipalities as Buffalo, Niagara Falls and the Village of Kenmore that have dealt with large scale water main breaks in recent days.
It was the Town of Lewiston's first major water line break of the winter season, although it did have some smaller incidents earlier this year.
"This happens a lot in this type of weather," Broderick said. "It never happens when it is 78 (degrees) and sunny."
Broderick said full water service should be restored by late Friday afternoon.
"Our crews should be able to just clamp it," Broderick said. "This isn't like Buffalo and its 36-inch pipe."
For most in the impacted area, they did have some level of water service while the line was being repaired. Some homes directly located near the break did lose all their water pressure.
In 2018, Lewiston invested more than $11 million to upgrade 9.2 miles of water lines, some of which were more than 100 years old.
That investment has paid off, Broderick said.
"We were able to replace a lot of turbulated lines," Broderick said.
Like Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, Broderick said a combination of harsh winter weather, especially bone-chilling cold, coupled with aging infrastructure often times leads to broken water lines.
"Especially, this winter," Broderick said.