Texas water main installed in 1887 gives out, shutting a major road for most of the day

Maintaining San Antonio's aging water pipes is an expensive challenge, the San Antonio Water System says. A main installed in 1887 broke beneath Broadway, shutting part of the major road.

Here's what to know

Broadway between Newell Avenue and Roy Smith Street became a repair zone after a pipe failed north of downtown around 4 a.m. on November 4, according to KSAT. Crews closed that stretch to make repairs.

Lilliana Gonzalez, a communications specialist for the San Antonio Water System, said nearby customers continued receiving water despite the break.

"Thankfully nobody is out of water currently. However the road is in bad shape and we need to replace the pipe."

Across San Antonio, aging infrastructure requires expensive replacements. Gonzalez cited the failed 19th-century pipe as an illustration of that broader problem.

More background

Charlie Gutierrez lives nearby and regularly takes his dog out in the morning. During one outing last week, he discovered the disruption. "This is pretty crazy," he said. "This was unexpected to see in the morning."

The closure made a supermarket north of the repair site harder for Gutierrez to reach. He also needed to work out how to get around it to reach school.

Cyclist David Bitterman rode his bicycle through the work site. The closed stretch of Broadway forms part of his usual route to the missions south of downtown. "Not unusual to encounter construction here in San Antonio, so I'm getting used to riding around it or through it," he said.

Near Blanco Road on the North Side, another water main break had forced Bitterman to turn around. He said the Broadway failure was not his first encounter with a broken main.

What's being done?

To address problems like the Broadway failure, Gonzalez said, SAWS needs the multimillion-dollar pipe-replacement project it began on Hildebrand Avenue.

Beginning in January, the utility plans to extend its work along Hildebrand to Devine Road. The stretch between McCullough and Shook Avenues remained closed for replacement pipe installation.

January is also the scheduled start for pipe replacements near Camden Street and Euclid Avenue, another portion of the project.

A similar replacement project for Broadway was not something Gonzalez could confirm. "In an ideal world, we should be able to maintain and replace those pipes, but that is very costly," Gonzalez said.

Where can I learn more?

San Antonio is one of many communities in Texas and beyond dealing with aging water pipes.

• In Los Angeles, a second main break in two days left 26 homes dry.

• In Atlanta, a water main break forced more than 100,000 people to boil tap water.

• Zavalla, Texas, received $5.3 million to replace aging pipes while losing 30% of its water.

• In East Texas, aging systems and worker shortages are driving efforts to secure water supplies.

• Dallas residents say an emergency water leak has persisted since August despite calls to 311.

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