Street trees are drinking from leaky water mains
A reader sent me a link to a New Scientist piece about a study examining why trees lining Montreal’s streets thrive better during droughts than trees in parks. It’s because they’re getting water from our notorious leaky water mains, and the way this was determined – by comparing lead isotopes – is pretty clever.
Nicholas 12:01 on 2025-07-18 Permalink
Love this story, thanks! I remember hearing years ago that roots will find water wherever it is, and will get into a pipe crack and grow and grow. We need to send those water trucks out as we fix the pipes.
Kate 12:38 on 2025-07-18 Permalink
The tree with the worst record for breaking into pipes is the weeping willow, which is why we don’t plant them near buildings. You’ll only see them in parks, well away from infrastructure. They’re not native trees, but they really do things for a landscape.
Ian 18:49 on 2025-07-18 Permalink
Maples are really good at growing right up a house’s standpipe if they find a way in but it’s true, willows are notoriously fast.