DAWSON CITY – Dawsonites have noticed that there are a lot of interruptions to street navigation these days.

Crews have been digging holes, uncovering maintenance holes and blocking entire streets to traffic this month.

At the Feb. 12 municipal council meeting, it was explained there have been water main leaks at a number of locations all over town.

Mark Dauphinee, the superintendent of public works, said the pressure of the water in the pipes had been increased to deliver better flows to homes and fire hydrants in the north end of town.

The unexpected result of this was a strain on some of the existing pipes, causing leaks at some weak points.

Dauphinee noted that it’s not unusual for the town’s water system to spring leaks. It often seems to happen at the most inconvenient times – in the winter. What’s unusual is for there to be so many at the same time.

He praises the town’s workers for being out there dealing with situations as quickly as possible in what have been very challenging temperatures and wind chills.

“The crews are working hard.”