Friday water main break sees millions of gallons

Last Friday at 5 a.m., the 16-inch water main pipe that provided water to a large section of homes and businesses around Nahatan Street “blew up” according to Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Mark Ryan.

The Town shut down Nahatan Street between Pleasant and West Border Road while DPW crews worked to isolate the leak. The Norwood Police Department urged caution for drivers and asked them to seek alternate routes to avoid the affected streets.

Water was seen sheeting across the streets, as well as filling up residents’ yards all over the area.

Ryan said the pipe has a bit of a history with the Town.

“The water main was installed as a lined pipe in the early 1960s,” he wrote in an email to The Record. “The water main broke at 5 a.m. on Friday. Water crews spent the next hour closing gate valves to isolate the water leak.”

The break caused flooding throughout the neighborhood, as well as low water pressure in the neighborhood, and two houses were without water.

“We received many calls about low water pressure,” Ryan said. “During the break itself, the water tanks were drained. Once the water leak was isolated, the water tanks were filled and normal water service was restored by 8:30 a.m.”

Ryan said the Town worked with the Town’s water main cleaning and lining contractor, DewCon, to get to the damaged pipe.

“They worked on excavating the water main, removing and replacing a 6-foot piece of 16-inch water main,” Ryan said.

The crews worked quickly and service was restored the same day.

“The water main was activated at 2:00 p.m., and the road reopened at 3:45 p.m.,” Ryan said. “It’s estimated that we lost 2.5 million gallons of water.”