Frozen pipes cause White Bear Township water tower to overflow

WHITE BEAR TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - Frozen pipes caused a water tower in White Bear Township to overflow, causing several nearby roads to ice over, according to White Bear Township officials.

White Bear Township Public Works Director Dale Reed says more then 100,000 gallons of water ran out of the tower before workers could shut down it down. The impacted roadways included: Birch Knoll Drive, Martin Way, Randy Ave, Portland Ave, Lakewood Ave to Stacker Place, and a small portion of Arbor Drive at County Road F.

“It was just a little sensor line which created bigger issues,” said Dale Reed, White Bear Township Public Works Director.

The Township Public Works crew are working to clear driveways, which may have snow or ice ridges, by the end of the day. County Road F from Bellaire Avenue to East County Line Road has been reopened.

“We had to get a motor grader out with a scraper up the ice,” said Reed. “It is fresh ice and it came up and we got it down to the pavement.”

He says Public Works keeps the volume in the water towers lower in the winter to allow for greater water exchange which will reduce the chance of freezing of the water tanks.

Reed expects with the temperatures rising this weekend, any remaining ice on the roadways will melt off.