Water main break turns streets to ice amid frigid temps, residents without water

    DETROIT (WXYZ) -- A Detroit neighborhood woke up to a frozen river stretching two blocks long after a water main break flooded Vaughn Street on the city's west side.

The main break happened at the intersection of Vaughn and Constance streets, which is in the area of Joy and Evergreen roads.

Crews from the city's Water and Sewage Department and Department of Public Works spent Monday afternoon clearing the ice in an attempt to access the main break.

It was just one of multiple main breaks crews were responding to in the midst of frigid temperatures hitting the city.

“It's that time of year, time of year you get water main breaks all over," said Frank Mathews, who lives on Vaughn. "I'm just lucky they're out here trying to see what they can do to mine.”

The Mathews' home of 20 years is directly in front of this main break. The city shut off water for him and his neighbors to prevent further flooding.

"Not having water? It's not fun. Believe me, it's not fun,” Matthews said.

Matthews says it started over the weekend as gushing water spread at least two blocks, turning into solid ice up to the sidewalk. It was a danger for residents walking or even driving their cars.

“It is what is is," Pamela Mathews said. "This is what happens when you live in a city with aging infrastructure, old pipes.”

The Detroit Water and Sewage Department says by early Monday afternoon, they had more than 10 main breaks across the city due to the frigid temps. On Vaughn Street, the city says the first calls came in Sunday and by Monday afternoon, crews were salting and clearing the street, so they could access the broken section of pipe underground.

"We have several breaks right now, so the ones we're prioritizing are where it's causing a safety issue like this where the street is flooded and iced over, or where people are without water,” said Bryan Peckinbaugh, spokesperson for the city of Detroit Water and Sewage Department.

“Actually, I was pleased to see they came out as quickly as they did because this had to have happened late Saturday night, early Sunday morning,” Pamela Matthews said.

As for the Mathews family, Frank says he used to work in underground piping and did the same work in cold weather.

“It's not fun believe me — it's not fun," Frank Mathews said. "You got on layers of clothes, you're soaking wet half the time, it's not fun at all.”

As night came, the city says a pump the crew needed failed in the cold temps. Residents will have to go the night without water, but the hope remains it will be fixed Tuesday morning.

If you do see a main break on your street, report it to the Water and Sewage Department immediately at 313-267-8000 or use the Improve Detroit app.

For smaller breaks, it may take two to three days for crews to respond to fix them.