What are some common causes of water main breaks?

Corrosion and freezing temperatures are indeed common causes of water main breaks. Over time, the pipe material can degrade due to corrosion, particularly in older systems where metal pipes have been used. This results in weakened structural integrity, which can lead to cracks and failures in the pipes.

Freezing temperatures can also contribute significantly to water main breaks. When water in the pipes freezes, it expands. This expansion can put tremendous pressure on the pipe walls, leading to ruptures. In climates that experience extreme temperature fluctuations, both corrosion and freezing can be prevalent issues that utilities must manage.

By contrast, heavy rainfall and flooding can cause issues such as infiltration and overloading the system, but they are not direct causes of the physical breakage of the pipe materials themselves. Increased demand for water often leads to operational challenges but does not directly result in breaks. Excessive water treatment chemicals could influence water quality and health standards but are unlikely to cause physical breaks to the main itself. These other factors may affect overall water supply or quality but do not contribute as directly to the structural failures seen with corrosion and freezing conditions.