Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Water main breaks happen all the time, but not that many quite like one in downtown Springfield Thursday night, where a 12-foot-long break occurred, and is still being remedied.

Todd LaFountain, City Water, Light, and Power (CWLP) water division chief, says a cast iron section that was supposed to last 100 didn’t quite make it near the intersection of 5th and Monroe Streets, but now is being replaced with something better.

“We utilize ductile iron now.  It’s got a higher tensile strength, so it will flex with the ground and whatnot,” said LaFountain.  “Tensile strength” is defined as the maximum stress that a material can stand as it’s bent or stretched.

“This old cast iron is somewhat brittle, that was installed up to about the late 1960’s,” said LaFountain.

LaFountain says the ductile iron could last longer than 100 years.

At the height of the water main break Thursday night, almost 300 customers ended up without power, compounding a stressful night for many.

“Shortly after the rupture, fire department contacted the electric department to isolate the area out of a safety precaution,” said Mike Gorsek, CWLP electric division manager.  “Once that was done, we rerouted several switches to be able to heat up as many customers as we could, after the original isolation.”

Power problems continued for less than 50 customers downtown until late Friday afternoon, when all service was restored.

A water main section was waited on the ground as crews worked on a break at 5th and Monroe Friday, Aug. 28.
A water main section was waited on the ground as crews worked on a break at 5th and Monroe Friday, Aug. 28. (Will Stevenson)

But, what caused such a large water main break — one many said they haven’t seen too many times in their career?

“When we look at the failed piece of pipe, it looks like just an old casting failure from back in the 50’s that finally surfaced itself here,” said LaFountain.  “It’s not unusual for cast iron pipe to be in service — reliable service — for over 100 years.  You do have spot failures in different places, but 100 years old is generally the design life for this kind of pipe.”

Springfield Public Works officials say once the main is fixed, then the road will be resurfaced. And that could take a couple weeks.  As a result, Monroe between 4th and 5th will remain closed to traffic for that period of time.  Only five downtown water customers will have to bring their water to a boil before using for food preparation or consumption for the next several days.  A test of the line, and of the sewer system in the area, is expected Saturday morning.

CLICK HERE to watch video of a Friday afternoon news conference.