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After multiple water main breaks this winter, Glenview neighbors keep fingers crossed as deep freeze approaches

Glenview neighbors worry about water main breaks with colder weather on the way
Glenview neighbors worry about water main breaks with colder weather on the way 02:00

GLENVIEW, Ill. (CBS) -- With the coldest weather of the season so far headed to the Chicago area next week, neighbors in north suburban Glenview are bracing for their street to turn into a lake.

Neighbors on Henley Street said their block is prone to water main breaks, with four already this winter, including twice earlier this week.

"It only took about maybe 8 to 10 minutes for the entire block to fill up with water," George Leclaire said.

In November, it burst three times in the same day.

With temperatures plunging into the single digits on Sunday, and not climbing back to double digits until Wednesday, Leclaire said he wonders what the street he lives on might look like.

"It really worries me that I'll be asleep some night, and wake up in the morning, and open the basement door, and we have one, two – who knows how much water," he said.

Leclaire uses his phone to document every break, and the crews who come out to repair them, and he's not alone.

"It actually goes up into my yard, because it always bursts right across the street," said Robin Andrews, who lives close enough to the break site that she worries the water could reach her house each time.

"It's happening more and more frequently," she said.

Andrews said she is also without water for a couple days each time it happens.

"I have to go out and buy extra water to wash my hands and brush my teeth and all those sorts of things," she said.

Village officials admitted the block does see more water main breaks than usual. They said the main was scheduled to be replaced in 2026, but moved it up to this summer instead.

However, because Henley Street is near Metra railroad tracks, the village said they will need more permitting than usual.

As for Leclaire and Andrews, they both said when breaks do happen, the village responds fast.  

"They kind of leave it like this, because they might have to dig again," Andrews said.

For now, they hope the muddy mess on their block stays put next week.

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