John Kozuh, director of Lincoln Park Public Services, said March 1 that water main breaks caused by water pressure spikes take priority over pothole repairs.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – Department of Public Services Director John Kozuh told the City Council March 1 that, given finite resources, water main breaks caused by water pressure spikes take priority over fixing potholes.
He said the city experienced 13 water main breaks in January and 26 in February.
“In January and February, we had 39 water main breaks, which is a little high,” Kozuh said. “I hope it gets warmer sooner rather than later, and our water main breaks slow down.”
He said multiple factors are responsible, including the age of the city’s water mains and pressure spikes from the Great Lakes Water Authority.
“Our system cannot handle spikes and drops in water pressure in a matter of five minutes,” Kozuh said. “Our system is not the newest, and those spikes are devastating.”
He said potholes are addressed when crews are available to make repairs.
“We do not have a large staff, and usually water mains and snow events take precedence, as they should,” Kozuh said. “If we haven’t gone through a thaw, and the potholes are not full of water, we will try to put people out to patch those, but if they are too wet, it just isn’t worth the time and effort to try to put cold patch in water.”
He said he tries to focus on filling city potholes in April, May and June, which usually gets his crews caught up, by the end of June, with the potholes that were reported.
To report a pothole on a city street, fill out the online form on the city website, at citylp.com/departments/department_of_public_services/report_a_pothole.php.
Potholes on Wayne County roads, which include Outer Drive, Fort Street, Southfield Road and Dix Road, may be reported to the county hotline, at 888-762-3273, or at waynecounty.com/departments/publicservices/roads/report-a-road-hazard.aspx.
Potholes on I-75, a state road, may be reported through the Michigan Department of Transportation website, at michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615_30883_30885-69798–,00.html.