Chicago-Area Deals With Pipes Bursting, Ruptured Water Mains

The issues with pipes could continue as the temperature warms up

As the Chicago-area recovers from a frigid cold snap, pipes and water mains throughout the area are being tested in a big way.

At Yorktown Apartments in suburban Lombard, 275 residents were impacted by ruptured water pipes, which knocked out heat and hot water to numerous units. Building management offered hotel rooms to those impacted by the outage, and around 70 residents took them up on that offer.

Management says that they should have everything back up and running on Friday.

For Chicago residents, issues with water or heating can be reported by dialing 311.

Other area residents are still scrambling to cope with ruptured pipes and water mains. City crews were left repairing water main breaks and burst pipes across the area.

One resident, P.C. Singswuan, hasn’t slept more than 30 minutes since a pipe burst in her Jefferson Park neighborhood. Sifting through her muddied belongings, she described to NBC 5 what she was going through.

“I just see water coming in from the walls in the window,” she said.

Frozen pipes in homes and businesses are causing problems now, but things could get even worse as they thaw out in coming days. NBC 5’s Charlie Wojciechowski explains. 

Neighbors say that it’s been an ongoing problem in the neighborhood, and several residents had to be rescued from their homes, including an 88-year-old who had more than four feet of water pour into their home.

Several iconic Chicago locations also had to deal with ruptured pipes, including O’Hare Airport and Union Station in the downtown area.

Pipes will be further tested in coming days as temperatures soar above freezing over the weekend, and even crack 50 degrees on Monday.

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