Large Main Break Caused Discolored Water in W. Portland
Ty Kovacs is the Director of Maintenance and Construction for the Portland Water Bureau, which serves about a million people in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties. KXL’s Annette Newell asked him, “Any idea how this happened, why it happened and what might have caused it?” Kovacs said, “In Portland, we have main breaks periodically. On an average year we have a 2250 mile water system. And in an average year we have about 150 to 175 main breaks.”
He says this break happened in an area of cast iron installed in 1949.
“We have 1300 miles of cast iron in our system, and this is a section of cast iron main. Anything from being undermined to pipe age to changes in soil conditions can all be contributing factors to main breaks.”
He also says construction in the area may be a factor.
“There’s not necessarily an obvious cause.”
The Water Bureau is telling customers their water should be back to normal and is safe to use.
Some repairs are still underway.