Dry ground wreaks havoc on ETX pipes

[ensho]

http://www.cbs19.tv/story/15231390/dry-ground-causes-etx-pipe-bursts


Pipes are bursting all over East Texas, and some communities have crews working overtime to make sure something comes out when you turn the tap.

-snip-

Gladewater City Manager Sean Pate tells CBS 19 East Texas cities have a lot of pipes that are just flat out old. Without billions of dollars to spend replacing them, a certain amount of failures are expected.

-snip-

"You have shifting of ground, and busted pipe," Pate said. "The pipe could be PVC, it could be cement. There's a lot of different ones but it doesn't matter what it's made of. If you get extreme drought and it starts to shift it's going to bust, and when it does, most cities around the area are probably experiencing double the amount of leaks they normally are."
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and with global warming its going to continue - creating jobs but can the towns/cities/citizens pay?

(this is akin to fracking causing earthquaks - man made)

[hedgehog]

1. My sister built a house in Plano back in the 80's -

complete with a lawn sprinkler system. We chided her about maintaining a lawn in an arid climate, and she told us she had to keep the ground watered to keep her foundation from cracking.

[moc]

3. This is true. (also live in Collin County - where Plano is).

We have a soaker hose around our foundation that keeps the moisture level in the foundation at a consistent level year round. Fortunately, our foundation (over 40 years old) is in good shape. Others are not so fortunate.

My friends back in Maryland think I'm nuts to have a foundation soaker hose.

[progressoid]

2. Too bad unemployment is at an all time low.

If only we had the manpower and the leadership to deal with these infrastructure problems.