Karen, any problems with WATER?

**Freckles** · 05-02-2010, 11:02 AM

Hopefully Newton is far enough away, but just checking.

**Karen** · 05-02-2010, 01:06 PM

We are in the "must boil water" area, so are using bottled water for teeth brushing, face washing and anything else. We are certainly within the MWDC area - Paul and I know the spot where the break happened, so he went down there and said the sound was amazing, he heard it even before he could see it yesterday afternoon.

**lizbud** · 05-02-2010, 04:55 PM

I was wondering about the water break too. How long till they get it fixed?

**Karen** · 05-02-2010, 05:03 PM

It depends ... as usual. It could be days, or a week or more. I feel sorriest for people with small children.

**wombat2u2004** · 05-02-2010, 06:07 PM

What has happened ??? You all have a water line break or something ???

**Karen** · 05-02-2010, 07:10 PM

We had a huge water main "break" - the pipe didn't break, but the collar connecting two huge pipes that bring water into the city broke. Yesterday there were 8 million gallons of water an hour pouring out of the pipe, fortunately it broke right near the Charles River. Paul took some pictures on the "waterfall" that was created on either side of a footbridge. So right now, about 2 million people in the Boston Metro area have been told they need to boil any tapwater before using it to drink, cook with, or even brush their teeth - what we're getting right now is mostly untreated water from two local reservoirs, and they worry about bacteria from goose poop, deer dropping, etc., in the water.

We have plenty of bottled water, and Paul went a few towns west and picked up some more today, just in case, as it may take days before we can rely on tap-water again.

See: Boston.com for the complete story, Wom!

**DJFyrewolf36** · 05-02-2010, 08:48 PM

Prayers on the way they get it fixed quickly!!!

**Freedom** · 05-02-2010, 10:06 PM

WOW I hadn't heard (been working the vegie garden all weekend with the nice weather).

Prayers for all of you! Yes folks with small children, aged, handicapped, they will find this a real challenge.

Any chance Paul will share his pics with us?

**wombat2u2004** · 05-03-2010, 05:33 AM

Eight million gallons an hour is a lot of water. It must be fairly gushing out.
I noticed in the article that the join was held together by a metal collar over a rubber sleeve ???? Perhaps the rubber perished ???

**Cinder & Smoke** · 05-03-2010, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by wombat2u2004

Eight million gallons an hour is a lot of water.
It must be fairly gushing out.

I noticed in the article that the joint was held together
by a metal collar over a rubber sleeve ????
Perhaps the rubber perished ???

That's the Million Gallon Question!
As for "the gushing" ... that's a bit of an understatement!

They have to go look for the pieces & parts of the failed joint - those pieces
washed into the River during the "gusher" and need to be recovered.

The basic joint design - a metal collar over a rubber sleeve and seal - is a
very common type of waterpipe joint that is used in modern water systems.

**Karen** · 05-03-2010, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by wombat2u2004

Eight million gallons an hour is a lot of water. It must be fairly gushing out.
I noticed in the article that the join was held together by a metal collar over a rubber sleeve ???? Perhaps the rubber perished ???

The bad part is that that intersection was only 7 years old, so they are going to have to do some serious investigation as to why it failed. Thankfully the river is fairly placid at that point, so it should not have gone too far downstream.

**elizabethann** · 05-03-2010, 12:49 PM

You can always come up here for water.

**lvpets2002** · 05-03-2010, 12:52 PM

Karen you all can come to Texas anytime.. We have good water so far.. Really Prayers going out to all of you.. That is just all so horrible..

**Karen** · 05-03-2010, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the offers, everyone! We have plenty of bottled water for now, and the line has been fixed. Today they are running the "good" water through the pipe, and doing water quality testing, it should be just another 24-48 hours before the tap water is safe again.

**Paul** · 05-03-2010, 03:12 PM

   In the evening on the day of Boston's water supply break, I went to see what eight million gallons per hour look like. It happened in a place just upstream on the Charles River from my mother's house. Unlike the initial reports, this was the perfect place for a problem. It's one of the very few places in this area that is (relatively) far from any home or business and right next to the river. It occurred on what used to be a road that was closed to vehicles (I guess) in the 1960's when the bridge needed repairs. Subsequently a pedestrian bridge was built in its place which quickly closed when the wood rotted.

   When I was a few hundred yards away from the river, I realized I could hear two sounds. The news helicopter circling above me and the sound of rushing water. The color of the river had changed to several shades of brown. The most dramatic part of the entire experience was the sound of the tiny waterfall. I wish I had taken a video to try to capture that sound.

   I watched two kayakers paddle down the river. (There is a popular canoe and kayak rental place just downstream.) I don't think they knew anything strange was happening! The man saw me on the opposite bank taking photos and pointed out the waterfall to his companion. What shocked me was what did not happen. They entered the stream of water in the middle of the river but they did not speed up to any noticeable degree. Eight million gallons per hour added to a small river is not much. The only real effect to the river was the movement of soil and sediment changing its color to brown.

      Paul