A water main break near Fairview Hospital turned into a sinkhole, swallowing up the rear end of a Jeep on Wednesday morning.
A 64-year-old man was transported to Fairview Hospital in stable condition.
A Cleveland Water repair crew was at the scene working to fix the water main break.
Michael Berry, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 33 years, told News 5 the water main breaks were never this common.
"We've had, over the last year, I would think, we've lost pressure several times... due to the main breaks," said Berry. "Over the years we've been here, I can't remember the last time it's affected us, you know, like this— more recently, honestly, probably within the last six months."
Other residents said they had traveled out of town, returned, and immediately noticed that the water pressure was low.
This is the water main break that has affected their water pressure and has turned into a sinkhole.
Residents asked why the water issues are happening and when they will be fixed.
"I would like to see them upgrade the system. We all know that the infrastructure is probably as old as the water department itself," Berry said.
Councilman Charles Slife, Ward 17, said it may take some time, but he assured the water company is working on it.
"This is actually a little bit of a water main break season too, as well," said Slife. "...Near Fairview hospital at Ward 17 has been a bit of a complex fix, because there's underground utilities.
News 5 reached out to Cleveland Water, which told us there are commonly 3 to 5 breaks a day around this time of year.
"Our repair crews are working hard to address the breaks as quickly as possible. We prioritize breaks based on several factors, including the severity of the break, number of customers affected, and overall system integrity," Cleveland Water said.
They also released the following statement in regards to the water main breaks:
Several factors can contribute to main breaks.
During this time of year, we average 3 to 5 breaks a day.
We proactively address main breaks throughout the year by investing roughly $30 million annually to replace buried infrastructure.
Our repair crews are working hard to address the breaks as quickly as possible. We prioritize breaks based on several factors, including the severity of the break, number of customers affected, and overall system integrity.
