Burst Pipes Cause Problems for Home Owners

The extreme heat is forcing muddy water out of the ground in some Diboll neighborhoods.

"The particular type of pipe was put in in the early 70s," Diboll Water Superintendent Ronnie Lyles said. "It's asbestos concrete and when the ground dries out, the clay soil that the pipe is buried in, it starts shifting and when it does that the pipe will break."

Several pipes have burst in Diboll over the last few days.

"Yesterday we had a particular leak," Lyles said. "It got into an abandoned sewer line. It actually surfaced about three blocks down the road from where the actual leak was at. It took us a little bit to locate the actual leak and get it shut off."

Now, they work on Wells Street to get the leak shut-off in the 105-degree heat.

"With the temperatures over 100 degrees every day, the ground just dries out and it starts moving," Lyles said.

Bea Suarez came home on a lunch break with her grandchildren and saw the newly fixed line.

"That is really crazy that in the winter when it is really cold, we go through this and now with the heat, it's doing the same thing, so it's just unbelievable," Suarez said.

Lyles and his crew try to do their work without the weather getting to them.

"We have a cooler in the back of the truck with water," Lyles said. "Try to stay as cool as possible. It's kind of tough right now."

For now, Lyles said they're working to stay caught up, but rain and cooler temperatures are what they really need.

If you see water running down the road, Lyles said call the city as soon as possible.

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