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Water main breaks continue to affect city, county

DPW working overtime to fix them
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The Baltimore area has seen dozens of water main breaks in the last week all due to the deep freeze.

"Working in this cold is kind of rough but it's what we have to do to make sure the people get water," said DPW supervisor, Ron Smith. 

RELATED: Interactive map from DPW shows current water main repair work

DPW crews are now working across the city and county on extended shifts to deal with the growing problem. Some crews are even working 12-hour shifts; filling holes, draining and even opening fire hydrants to relieve the water pressure and restore service. 

"You get one job done, you get warm while you're working and you move on to the next," Smith said.

DPW has been warning customers that when the temperature is 25 degrees or below for an extended period of time, expect water main breaks and frozen pipes.

A new, real-time map launched by DPW Friday, shows problems, where crews are working and where water issues have been fixed.  

"We're around the clock busy, round the clock busy, lots of water main breaks," Smith told ABC2.

Something some homeowners wished they had before their water went out. 

"It started leaking around the middle of the week, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday, it was leaking for about two days, I didn't see any workmen out," resident, Neil Bortmes, told ABC2.

And while DPW says some crews will even work through the night, customers are still frustrated. 

"They've shut off all of our water over the weekend instead of maybe doing this work during the workday so that's a little disappointing," Bortmes said.

If you have water issues and live in Baltimore City,  call 311.

If you live in the county, you're asked to call 410-396-5352.