Water Main Break Prompts Fires, Evacuations In Boston

A major water main break in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston last week shut down businesses, halted local traffic, and prompted the evacuation of over 100 people.

The 20-inch water main ruptured on November 30, causing a pair of manhole fires that sent toxic smoke down the street, according to The Boston Globe. Over 65 firefighters responded to the scene.

Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn explained the cause of the fires, per WCVB: "The residual of all that water got into the manhole systems. The Eversource power grid here downtown short-circuited and we had a number of manholes on fire.”

At least three buildings were evacuated due to concerns about carbon monoxide in the air, which measured 800 ppb in some spots, the Globe reported.

“The underground fires began sending toxic smoke into the street and surrounding buildings around 9 a.m., about four hours after a 20-inch cast-iron pipe gave way on Washington Street,” the report said, citing city officials.

Some other local businesses closed because they have up to four feet of water in their basements, according to WCVB.

In addition, “the sidewalk and pavement buckled outside of the Roaster & Wine Bar, where water bubbled up from beneath the surface,” WCVB reported.

The problem with the broken pipe, which was 125-years-old, highlights the city’s water infrastructure challenges, according to the Boston Herald.

“Boston Water and Sewer Commission spokeswoman Dolores Randolph said the city’s water system is one of the oldest in the country and the 2-inch-thick cast-iron pipe that broke had been originally laid in 1891 and then re-lined in 1984, with the interior scoured and reinforced with mortar. That usually gives an additional 50 years of lifespan,” the report said.

The problem is ubiquitous across old East Coast cities, and it will be a costly problem for Boston to solve.

“Approximately 50 percent of the 800,000 miles of U.S. water infrastructure is evaluated as poor to beyond planned life, according to a Bluefield study from earlier this year, and [one expert] said the estimated cost of replacing and rehabilitating the country’s infrastructure is $270 billion,” the report said.

To read about the country’s water infrastructure problems visit Water Online’s Asset Management Solutions Center.