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Pipe bursts around Chicago, including O'Hare Airport control tower due to cold snap

By
Marissa Sulek
Marissa Sulek
Reporter
Marissa Sulek joined CBS News Chicago in January 2025. Before Chicago, Marissa was a general assignment reporter in Nashville at WSMV, where she was nominated for Mid-South Emmy Awards for her reporting on the deadly flooding in rural Waverly.
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Marissa Sulek

/ CBS Chicago

Chicago's roller coaster temperatures are likely to blame for a pipe bursting at O'Hare's main air traffic control tower on Tuesday.

It caused flight delays all day as air traffic controllers had to evacuate and rely on two smaller towers. The main control tower has since been back up and running, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but not before nearly 900 flights were delayed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just an O'Hare problem on Tuesday. Pipes were bursting all around the city with single-digit windchills.

Water started pouring out of the ceiling of an Auburn Gresham apartment building during the afternoon after a pipe erupted.

"A tenant heard water pouring down from a unit next door," said Justin Keller. 

Justin Keller and Iverson Yojcon with Pro Services Plumbing and Sewer responded to it as soon as they could.

"It was pretty bad. It was a big building, so it was under quite a bit of pressure," Keller said.

They said they shut down the valve and isolated the leak.

In the midst of this cold snap, they said pro services is seeing 10% more calls than average.

"We have been getting just a lot of pipe bursts, a lot of frozen pipes, calls for no hot water," Keller said.

A pipe burst is what caused air traffic controllers to evacuate the main tower at O'Hare a little after 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

It forced a ground stop and flight delays all day, with travelers saying they missed connecting flights.

"They had two delays there for us, so we just got in. I ran all the way to the gate, and I thought I made it, and they were already gone," Jon Eis said.

"We pushed off, then we got the announcement that we had a 50-minute delay, so five, zero," said Lara Dyke.    

"She had some pinholes in her copper, so every time she was doing laundry, it was coming out of the pipe," Keller said.

As for Justin and Iverson, they attended six calls on Tuesday. 

Their advice for homeowners and renters this winter is to disconnect hoses outside, let faucets on exterior walls drip, and keep a space heater on areas prone to freezing.

They said those simple measures could have prevented the bursts.

"If we didn't come out here, it was only a matter of time before it could have started coming out into the hallway," Keller said.

While plumbers said winter is known for pipes bursting, once the weather starts thawing out in the spring, their call volume picks up.

CBS News Chicago reached out to the FAA on the extent of the damage to the main control tower and how much the repairs cost, but has yet to hear back.

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