Pennsylvania American Water has had more than its share of breaks in the waterline under Pillow Street. Friday was the latest incident, when a break between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. left more than 24 customers, including some businesses, without water for about 12 hours.

During the disruption, the water company repair crew also had to deal with a broken valve for what was described as an “aging main.”

No doubt some city residents, especially in that area, are wondering why Pennsylvania American doesn’t just replace the line, rather than incur all of the costs and inconveniences tied to what can be regarded as much too frequent breaks.

That’s a good question, especially considering what surely are the significant overtime costs associated with such a repair. Meanwhile, such breaks move employees from other more important work.

Granted, Pillow Street isn’t the only Butler street that has a problem waterline under it, but its need for replacement is obvious.

Every winter’s freeze-and-thaw cycle will pose challenges for older lines.

If Pennsylvania American has no plans for a larger-scale project for Pillow Street, the issue then becomes how long will it be before the company returns the street to the condition that existed before the break.

This year the city has had a number of sites that utilities — including Pennsylvania American — were slow in repairing or having repaired by a paving contractor.

Meanwhile, there is another aspect of Friday’s problem that should not be overlooked. Before Pennsylvania American workers finished their work early Saturday, no one thought about washing away the muddy mess caused by the break.

If Pennsylvania American didn’t have equipment on the scene to wash away the mud, that work could have been done by the city fire department.

After all, the fire department often responds to minor traffic accidents for which its services aren’t needed.

Like city businesses and residents, the fire department should have an interest in the city maintaining a clean face. It is to be hoped that the dirty condition of the street was noted on Saturday, Sunday and Monday police reports.

But on Monday, Pillow Street remained a mess due to dried-up mud that many municipalities wouldn’t tolerate.

There apparently isn’t any reason to question the amount of time it took to complete the waterline repair, but the break has raised some important questions as to how long the water company will continue to tolerate Pillow Street problems and what the city can do to be more of a team player in regard to such situations.

Water company and city officials all need to ponder those questions.