The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile

Lightning from a passing storm struck in the vicinity as city of Odessa employees worked through the night June 14 to repair a massive water line break that left the city without water for 48 hours. (Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune)

Odessa city officials are still investigating what caused a massive water line break that left the city without water for 48 hours last month. But they’ve shared one important detail: The water line was about 60 years old.

“Aging water systems are common throughout the country,” said Thomas Kerr, Odessa’s utilities director, during a press conference the day after the line broke. “It’s often difficult for municipalities to be able to afford to manage those systems as they age. That’s the situation we find ourselves in.”