Officials working on two water main breaks in northern Utah
Dec 4, 2025, 5:45 PM | Updated: 6:21 pm
Image of a water main break reported Thursday in the Salt Lake City neighborhood of Mt. Olympus. (Salt Lake City Public Utilities)
(Salt Lake City Public Utilities)
SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah neighborhoods were dealing with the repercussions of water main breaks on Thursday.
The first one happened in the Olympus Cove neighborhood of Salt Lake City, at Brockbank Drive and Arcata Road.
On Facebook, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities said that Brockbank Dr. was closed between Fortuna Way and Arcata Road. It expects repairs to begin on Friday.
The repairs could take as many as 12 hours to complete, the utility said. It asked drivers in the area to be careful, and to plan an alternate route if possible.
The second water main break was reported in a Provo neighborhood near 900 E. 350 N.
On Facebook, officials from Provo City government said water had been turned off in the “immediate area,” and that crews were already making repairs.
Provo City also asked drivers to slow down and to use caution near the area of the water main break.
According to Salt Lake City Public Utilities, water main breaks occur “when a crack or hole in the water main (the central pipes in Salt Lake City’s water system which form our water distribution network) allow water to seep to the surface.”
Some of the factors that contribute to water main breaks include:
- Aging infrastructure (in Salt Lake, the average age of pipes is 100 years.)
- Spikes in high water flow and pressure in a small area.
- Heavy nearby construction.
- Geological changes.
- Utility work.
Salt Lake City reports that in fiscal 2023-2024, the average number of these types of breaks was the lowest they’d seen since 2016-2017. It says this represents its focus on repairing and replacing aging infrastructure.
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