What is a water main?
A water main is a large water pipe buried underground, typically underneath roads. These pipes have smaller service pipes running off of them, bringing water to locations throughout the county.
What causes a water main break?
Water main breaks occur for several reasons. In Henrico, the most common reason is due to temperature changes. As the ground moves with temperature changes, especially in the winter, it puts pressure on the pipes, which can cause it to break.
Other reasons include damage during construction, pressure changes in the pipes, and age of the pipes.
Henrico regularly renews and replaces water mains and other pipes in the system as needed to prevent breaks and keep the system running smoothly.
How does Henrico DPU learn about water main breaks?
This depends! We may see signs in our internal monitoring system known as the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) that will lead us to investigate, or we may get reports from our residents.
The biggest sign you may see is water bubbling up unexpectedly from the ground. Let us know if you see any signs of a water main break at 804-727-8700.
How long does it take to fix a water main break?
Every water main break is different. Many breaks can be fixed in a few hours, but some could take days of around-the-clock work!
Our primary concern with every break is ensuring water service to customers. If you lose service, always make sure to let us know. In many cases, we are able to reroute water within the system away from the break to restore service.
Why do you have to close the road during the repair?
Sometimes we are able to repair a water main break without impacting traffic, but others, our crews need that space to work or it’s not safe for traffic. In those cases, Public Utilities will close the road to traffic and set up a detour.
When major roads or common commuter routes are affected, we notify residents on social media. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and Nextdoor to make sure you’re receiving these notifications. We are currently evaluating other methods of notification for our residents.
Why do I see crew members just standing around when I drive by a water main break work site?
Rest assured our crew is never wasting time when it comes to water! There are frequently many steps to the repair, and not all crew members have the specialized training for each step. They also may be waiting for one step to be completed before they can perform theirs. While some crew members are focused on clearing debris from around the water main, others may be waiting for them to be finished so they can begin to work on the pipe.
Most importantly, crews are watching and supervising each other due to the complex and intensive nature of the work and the need to watch out for each other.
We are proud of our crew of professionals! If you’re looking to join a dynamic team in a job that’s never boring, reach out to us. We are always hiring for professional people to work on our crews.
