Water main repair means lane closures, boiling water

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Public Utility Authority crews are working to repair a broken water main at Market Street and North 23rd Street in Wilmington.

The repairs have meant closing some lanes of traffic for much of the day. Now the CFPUA has hand-delivered boil water notices to about 45 homes in the 100 block of North 23rd Street and the 2200 and 2300 blocks of Market Street.

CFPUA says water lines in the older sections of Wilmington are typically made of iron. Iron expands and contracts in hot and cold weather. Expansion and contraction causes or worsens cracks in the pipes causing breaks that show above ground as sink holes, running or pooling water. By way of comparison, residential pipes are often constructed of copper because copper is somewhat malleable and ‘stretches’ with hot and cold weather.