ST. LOUIS — As temperatures start to climb in the St. Louis area, water main breaks are popping up all over St. Louis.
According to data provided by Nick Dunne with Mayor Tishaura Jones' office, 63 water main breaks were reported in the city as of Tuesday. Eighteen of the breaks had been restored as of noon on Tuesday, and 11 more were in the process of being fixed.
No boil water advisories have been issued due to the breaks.
Friday, Jeffrey Hamilton's water was shut off because of this water main break at Jamieson and Chippewa in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.
"No warning, they just cut it off!" Hamilton said. "I experienced no running water, not being able to take a shower and use the bathroom. It was just a horrible experience to go through that. Most of what I was concerned about is where the aldermen and these other people who don't do anything about the infrastructure in the city [are]?" Hamilton asked.
His only option to make things work was to buy gallons of water.
"To flush the toilet, we had to keep filling up the toilet. So it was a little bit expensive for a while, but what are you going to do?" Hamilton asked.
Hamilton has lived in the neighborhood for two decades and said this break is one of two his neighbors have faced in the last year.
"Let's not take us back to the 1800s with no running water or bad streets. It's bad infrastructure," Hamilton added.
The city's director of the Department of Public Utilities, Curt Skouby, said it's an ongoing problem when cold weather grips the state.
They can't always notify residents about the shutoffs.
"We don't have time, the people to do it," Skouby said. "We repair and replace as funds become available and we're always searching for funds to do this."
Hamilton said he was filled with joy when he heard the sound of running water return on Monday.
"All of sudden, it just started making noise and started coming out. That was a delightful sound," Hamilton said.
You can report water main breaks or other issues with city services on the Citizens' Service Bureau website. For more information or to submit a request, click here.
St. Louis is not the only city to experience water main breaks during the recent arctic blast.
According to Associated Press reports, the cold broke so many water mains in Memphis that the entire city was placed on a boil water notice because the water pressure was so low, Memphis Light, Gas and Water said. Bottled water was being given out in at least two locations in the city Friday.
In Jackson, Mississippi, law enforcement agencies are investigating whether social media rumors about a potential water outage during the cold snap prompted people to quickly fill bathtubs with tap water. The water system in Mississippi’s capital experienced a pressure drop that temporarily made faucets run dry for thousands of customers last week.
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