Philadelphia water main breaks spike in cold weather

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia water department says crews have been working “at an almost 24/7 pace” to deal with a high rate of water main breaks since Christmas.

The department says there were 117 water main breaks in January 2017, but there have been 176 main breaks in the first half of this month. The department still has 170 leak investigations outstanding and is trying “to get those assigned and inspected.”

And with the call center overwhelmed, the department will for the first time – and temporarily – take customer-service requests via social media.