Drought among causes leading to increase in Cape water main breaks

A lack of water from the sky is among the causes leading to more water main breaks below ground in Cape Girardeau, according to municipal officials.

Through October, 51 water mains have broken in the city, an increase of more than 25% from all of 2021.

"I would say some of that has been attributable to the drought," said Stan Polivick, director of the city's Public Works Department.

The director said the city has been fortunate that the majority of breaks have been on smaller mains. However, less than two months ago a 14-inch water main broke in the Big Bend area, leading to a loss of water service for thousands in Cape Girardeau and forcing the city under a boil advisory for about five days. Erica Bogenpohl, water manager for the city, said in a press conference shortly after the break that it was caused by poor ground conditions due to the drought.

The absence of rain creates a two-pronged issue for water mains. Dry ground can shift more, placing increased pressure on underground pipes, coupling that with an increase in pressure in the system because of higher usage volumes can lead to a break, the officials explained.

Cape Girardeau is far from the only city to have this problem, numerous metropolitan areas across the country, including Kansas City, Missouri, are seeing an increase in main breaks, some even setting new records.

Unfortunately, Polivick said there's little the city can do to remedy the issue.

"We can't go around on our own and try to saturate the ground. There just isn't any real mechanism for that," Polivick said.

The director said he is hoping for more normal rain patterns in coming months. He's not hoping for one big rain, but numerous smaller ones to soak into the ground, he said.

Weather forecasters are calling for chances of rain in the area over the next few days.