While a water main break may seem like a sudden inconvenience, the work happening behind the scenes is anything but simple. A water main is a large underground pipe that carries water throughout the City’s public water system, delivering clean drinking water to homes, businesses, schools, and other facilities. Once on site, employees secure the work area with barricades, isolate the damaged section of water main by shutting off the appropriate valves, and notify nearby residents or businesses if water service will be interrupted. Whether the repair takes four hours or thirty, crews work as quickly and safely as possible to restore water service and return the area to normal. Water main breaks often occur during nights, weekends, holidays, or periods of extreme weather.