RUMFORD — Hundred-year-old water mains and valves may have contributed to a water main break over the weekend, officials said Monday.
Water began gushing onto Congress Street just before 8 p.m. Friday and the Water District responded to isolate it, Superintendent Brian Gagnon said.
The break occurred between Exchange and Bridge streets and the Rumford Police Department closed that area to traffic.
“It was like a river going down the street,” he said.
A rock underneath the water main, which may have shifted due to frost, was most likely the cause of the break, Gagnon said.
Crews worked in freezing temperatures till 11 a.m. Saturday repairing the water main. Gagnon said there was some difficulty in shutting off the main due to frozen water and the age of the valves.
“This is one of the reasons you need to work on infrastructure,” he said.
Gagnon said money is set aside in the budget to deal with emergencies, but things can become more complicated and costly when dealing with 100-year-old equipment.
The Water District’s after-hours operator was also flooded with calls about low water pressure in town, he said.
Steve Swasey Excavation of Andover supplied gravel to help fill the hole dug to access the main, Gagnon said.
“We were very fortunate that he was able to help us out because during the winter it’s difficult to find someone,” he said.
Dorothy Sherwood of Rumford Island Housing said the building was without water for 12 hours and residents received a notice saying tenants should boil their drinking water.
Gagnon said the boil order was put in place as a precaution due to a large amount of dirt that was in the water main.
“We flushed the hydrant near the end of Congress Street for nearly three hours to clean it out,” he said.
Gagnon also said he was thankful to the Auburn Water District for help in testing the water after the main was flushed to make sure it was safe for drinking.
Andy Russell, superintendent for the Public Works Department, said the department would have to work on a large section of pavement that was damaged by flooding. An estimate of damage was not available Monday.
ecox@sunjournal.com
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