AUBURN — A sub-surface water main leak has been traced to New Auburn’s Fifth Street-Broad Street intersection, according to water district officials.

Auburn Water District Superintendent John Storer said the crews noted a drop in water pressure about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. That was followed by four calls from New Auburn officials complaining that they had no water service.

“When you put two and two together, it’s pretty clear we had a water main break,” Storer said. “So we dispatched the  crews and they’ve been driving around all morning looking for water coming out of the ground. So we started using listening devices to narrow it down.”

Storer said his staff believes the main is leaking directly into a storm sewer. Crews have narrowed it down to the New Auburn intersection and are waiting to begin work digging up the broken main and replacing it.

Distict Engineer Sid Hazelton said police have detoured traffic around the intersection, closing Broad Street between Sixth Avenue and South Main Street and Fifth Avenue between South Main and Pulsifer Streets.

The district has also turned off water to about 15 homes in that general area. The rest of New Auburn should not be affected, Hazelton said.

Hazelton said crews were waiting for excavation approval from DigSafe Maine before breaking the pavement open. He said he would not know the extent of the repairs needed or how long it would take until they were able to dig down to the main.

“It’s impossible to say anything until you dig down there,” Hazelton said. “But we will be on it until it’s fixed.”

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