East Texas Water Line Disruptions

EAST TEXAS — Several cities in East Texas have experienced water line disruptions in recent weeks. In some cases, city officials are blaming the record heat, but others say broken pipes happen year-round. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, city spokesman Shawn Hara said Longview has had about four line breaks in the past two weeks. “A number of factors can contribute to water line breaks, including the age of the infrastructure, any ground movement, drought conditions, and system demands,” Hara said. “It can be very difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for which a water line failed.”

Sean Pate, Gladewater city manager, said the excessive heat and drought have contributed to city water line breaks in the past month, but not for the reasons most people might assume. “It’s not so much the extra water usage, although that might be contributing to the problem,” Pate said. “The main factor causing breakage is that the ground is shifting because of the temperatures and drought conditions, which causes some of the older pipes to break.”