Costs Rising in Minneapolis Water Main Break

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Minneapolis, Minn., officials said they haven’t begun to tally the costs of a massive water main break that sent 14 million gallons of water gushing into downtown streets last week, submerging dozens of vehicles and forcing local businesses to shut down.

City Engineer Steve Kotke said he expected the broken water line would be repaired by the night of Jan. 6. Until then, crews were working around the clock on cleanup and repairs at a cost that’s yet to be determined, he said.

“We don’t even have a ballpark right now,” Kotke said. “I’m working guys overtime. They’ll be working all weekend long.”

Insurers are likely to cover some of the expenses, and City Attorney Susan Segal said the city would seek reimbursement from the party responsible.

The break happened Jan. 3 at a Ryan Companies construction site of a $70 million apartment-retail development. A Ryan subcontractor was working near the 36-inch water pipe when the breach occurred. That contractor, United Sewer and Water of Brooklyn Park, did not return phone messages left by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Associated Press.

Water flooded the underground level of a three-level parking ramp behind a U.S. Postal Service mail-sorting facility, postal spokesman Pete Nowacki said. The water was at least 5 feet deep, submerging up to 30 postal vehicles and an undetermined number of employee cars, Nowacki said.

“Those cars are going to be losses,” he said.

In the aftermath of the break, crews isolated the broken water main from the rest of the city’s water system. That cut off water supply to local restaurants and other businesses, forcing them to shut down and send employees home early.

A block away from the breach, Origami restaurant closed because it had no water through Thursday night. The move cost the restaurant between $4,000 and $5,000 in revenue, manager Tim Theobald said, and his 12 employees lost out on half a day of pay.

“It was kind of a big deal,” he said. “Thursdays aren’t like weekends, but they’re close.”

Marie Asgian, the city’s superintendent of water distribution, said the lost water represents about one-third of the city’s daily use. She said the city would try to recoup its loss.

She also said workers are supposed to dig by hand when they get close to utility pipes, which were marked in this case. She said when workers are dealing with frozen ground they’ll sometimes try to get as close to pipes as they can with machines.