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UPDATE: The water main has been repaired and water service is fully restored at Acewood Blvd. Crews are now beginning sinkhole and road repairs.

ORIGINAL RELEASE: Madison Water Utility crews are continuing repair work on a large water main break located on Acewood Blvd. near Cottage Grove Road. The main ruptured at around 6:15 this morning, causing a 10-foot wide sinkhole in the southbound lane of Acewood Boulevard. People living within a half-mile of the break either experienced very low water pressure, or lost service altogether for about 2 ½ hours.
 
Service has now been restored to all customers except those on the 900 block of Acewood Blvd., where valves have been turned off to allow for repairs. Those repairs could take several more hours.  
 
Although the break is not at a cross-section of water main as initially believed, the broken section is one of the largest we’ve seen this year. Madison Water Utility responds to more than 200 main breaks every year, and that number is growing as much of the city’s water infrastructure reaches the end of its useful life. We’re addressing the problem with a long-term plan to replace nearly half of our water mains -- some 400 miles of pipe. We’ve gone from replacing just a mile or two of pipe a year a decade ago to replacing seven to eight miles of pipe this year alone. Eventually, we will ramp up to a goal of replacing or relining 10 to 12 miles every year.
 
Photo:  Madison Water Utility employee Chris Villaneueva wades into sinkhole to reach broken water pipe
 

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Agency: 
Water Utility
Area: 
East