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Water Main Break Leaves 2 Million Parched

Massachusetts governor declares state of emergency

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted May 2, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

(Newser) – Tap water in most of eastern Massachusetts is unsafe to drink following a water main break yesterday in a suburb west of Boston. Some 2 million residents must boil water for at least 1 minute before drinking it, making baby formula, or brushing their teeth, a situation one official described to the Globe as "everyone’s worst nightmare in the water industry."

The outage, caused when a 7-year-old pipe ruptured, created a run on bottled water after the water authority switched to its backup system, which uses what another official called "untreated pond water." The governor said today the situation is less dire than originally feared, describing restoration of a safe drinking water supply as a matter of "days not weeks."

Gov. Deval Patrick (fourth from left) visits a tunnel at the site of a water main break in Weston, Mass., Sunday, May 2, 2010. The pipe feeds into the pipe that failed, creating a state of emergency.
Gov. Deval Patrick (fourth from left) visits a tunnel at the site of a water main break in Weston, Mass., Sunday, May 2, 2010. The pipe feeds into the pipe that failed, creating a state of emergency.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Store employees bring in a shipment of bottled water to a supermarket in Chelsea, Mass., May 2, 2010. Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency following a major water main break.
Store employees bring in a shipment of bottled water to a supermarket in Chelsea, Mass., May 2, 2010. Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency following a major water main break.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
A worker inspects the water main in Weston, Mass., that failed on Saturday, sending millions of gallons of water into the Charles River.
A worker inspects the water main in Weston, Mass., that failed on Saturday, sending millions of gallons of water into the Charles River.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 12 comments
bewilderbeast
May 3, 2010 1:09 PM CDT
We've just had our 30yr old water main pipes replaced because they were springing leaks. Seven years seems too short. Investigate who laid the pipes, and what their connection was at the time with the politicians and officials concerned.
latyf
May 3, 2010 2:58 AM CDT
Sh*t is going down.Oil spill,Tennessee floods,Massachusetts pipe breakdown,Arizona immigration law,W. Virginia miners.The economy is still tanked,unemployment is still high etc.Probably just the aftershock from the worst decade in American history.
Jeebus
May 2, 2010 10:32 PM CDT
Do you hear that gulf coast residents? A couple million people in Massachusetts are going to have to boil their water for a couple days.
US • Health

 
water • Boston • public health • Massachusetts • state of emergency • drinking water • tap water • water main • Weston, Mass. • boil water order • Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

 
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