Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis across South

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Days of freezing temperatures in Deep South areas that usually freeze for only hours are threatening dozens of water systems as burst pipes leak millions of gallons of water.

The problems were happening Monday in large, troubled water systems like Jackson, Mississippi, where residents were required over Christmas to boil water months after most lost service because of a cascade of problems from years of poor maintenance.

They also are happening in Shreveport, Louisiana, where some residents had no water Monday. In Selma, Alabama, the mayor declared a state of emergency because they city worried it would run out of water. Workers at a food bank in Greenville, South Carolina, opened their doors to a rush of water and were trying to save $1 million in food. Police departments around Atlanta said their 911 systems were being overwhelmed by unnecessary emergency calls about broken pipes.

Dozens of water systems either had boil advisories in place because of low pressure or warned of bigger catastrophes if leaks from broken pipes weren't found and water shut off.

The culprit was temperatures that dropped below freezing Thursday or early Friday and have spent only a few hours if any above 32 degrees (0 degrees Celsius) since then.

Water expands when it freezes, bursting pipes that aren't protected. Then when the temperature rises, those broken pipes start leaking hundreds or thousands of gallons of water.

And over a holiday weekend, when many businesses are closed, those leaks can go undetected for days, Charleston, South Carolina, water system spokesman Mike Saia told WCSC-TV.

Charleston was on the verge of a boil water requirement for its hundreds of thousands of customers that could close restaurants and other businesses.

The system puts out about...