Traffic in Brooklyn Square has been disrupted since early Saturday as Jamestown Board of Public Utilities crews worked to find the source of a district heating system leak. The system is still working, according to BPU officials, but traffic was detoured around the area for most of Saturday and again Monday. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Traffic in Brooklyn Square has been seeing disruptions since early Saturday morning, thanks to a district heat leak that the Board of Public Utilities is still searching for the source of.

Traffic was disrupted in the area for most of Saturday and again on Monday as crews continued to search for the source, but BPU officials reported that the system is still working right now. As of Tuesday afternoon there has been no update on locating the leak, though the intersection remained closed much of the day.

The BPU has been working on an ongoing project to upgrade their district heating system for a while, and Becky Robbins, BPU communications coordinator, said leaks like the one that began over the weekend happen due to the aging infrastructure of the current system, and can happen any time of year.

“A thermal drone study of BPU district heating pipes occurred last year, indicating areas of pipes that needed attention,” Robbins said. “As indicated by the study, employees worked through summer and early fall to repair and replace district heating lines. We notify district heating customers should we need to repair a break. We haven’t had any more district heating pipe leaks this year than last.”

Other types of leaks or breaks such as water main breaks can happen more often in the winter months, especially when temperatures fluctuate from low to high or high to low. Robbins said widely swinging temperatures can cause the earth to shift around water lines, sometimes cutting into them and creating leaks, though as of right now the BPU has seen about the same amount of water main breaks in the city as last year.

“Main breaks can be observed in different ways,” Robbins said. “Customers may see water running down streets or snow melting in a yard. Main breaks sometimes send water gushing into the air. Customers may experience discolored water or a loss of water pressure inside the home.”

Additionally, customers who notice anything like that can report them to the BPU at (716)661-1660 during the day or 716-661-1640 after hours.

Similar to the district heat leak over the weekend, when a main break occurs, BPU employees, specifically in the Water Division in this case, must first locate the break and the actual area of the pipe that needs fixing.

“They must pinpoint electric, gas and sewer lines before they can dig up the water pipe,” Robbins said. “Water in the area must be turned off and a backhoe will be used to dig four to five feet underground to fix the pipe. Traffic may be rerouted so that a work area can be set up during the repair time. Employees generally knock on doors to alert customers in the vicinity that water will be turned off temporarily.”

Customers are also notified with website alerts on the BPU’s homepage, jamestownbpu.com or on Facebook and Twitter. Customers may sign up for email and/or text alerts under the “Notify Me” area on the homepage, and alerts are posted at the top of that same page.

Robbin’s said the BPU does not generally knock on doors in the street to notify customers. Their first goal is to fix the break and they rely on the website and social media posts to get the word out.

Robbins noted that once water main breaks are fixed water may be discolored as well, due to naturally occurring sediment in the water line that may get stirred up as employees turn the water off and on during the repair process, adding that it will typically clear within 12 to 24 hours.