September 9, 2026 – West Bend, WI – Neighbors on the north side of West Bend, Wi are noticing a repetative occurrance of water main breaks and sink holes over the past few months in the area around Park Avenue, 12th and 13th Avenue, Green Tree Road, Beverly Lane, Wayne Road and Glen Court. On Tuesday morning, crews from the Department of Public Works were working on a reported break on Chestnut Street, just east of the Highway 45 overpass.
Alderman Travis Prindl responded to taxpayers who have called.
Hi ****,
Yes, there have been a series of issues with the water mains in a concentrated area around 12th street. Travis Thull is our Water Utilities Manager. He recently sent out a mailing to the area residents explaining what they are seeing and their plans to rectify this. Did you receive that mailing?
They are getting engineering and quoting to replace the water main in that area in 2027 as the system is definitely compromised.
Im not sure if the school construction would have caused anything more as this has been happening for over a year now as I counted 5 spots where repairs have been made. Not good!
I would recommend you contact Travis for further information as he is by far the best source of information you could ask for. He is deeply involved and dedicated to getting this issue resolved.
Travis Prindl
The letter below was distributed to some neighbors in the community.
City administrator Jesse Thyes said, “We have experienced some main breaks. I understand those are some older pipes in that area and we do have, some groundwater issues, I believe, as far as exacerbating the freeze thaw and the movement underground. You know, that said, for any particulars on it, though, I would have to have you contact our water utility.”
Calls have been placed to Travis Thull at the water utility. This story will be updated when details are available.
