Crews spent long hours digging, filling and chasing down gates, leavened with a little levity.
Update on Saturday Sept. 26, 1 p.m.: The state Department of Environmental Protection has lifted the boil water order issued Friday for residents affected by the water main break on River Street.
It is no longer necessary to use boiled water or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and preparing food. The City of North Adams apologizes for any inconvenience and thanks you for your patience.
The areas specifically identified as potentially affected were:
River Street, Yale Street, Upper Meadow Street, Williams Street, North Street, Cady Street, Pitt Street, Chesbro Avenue, Chase Avenue, North Holden Street, Dover Street, Miner Street, Wal-Mart, and McCann Technical School.
The city has it has taken the following actions to confirm the status of the water system:
The water main has been repaired and the water mains were disinfected with chlorine.
A chlorine residual has been maintained throughout the water system.
Friday, Sept. 25, multiple water system samples were collected from the affected area and elsewhere in the city. All results were absent for total coliform bacteria and showed adequate chlorine residuals.
Pressures have been determined to be adequate in the at-risk areas.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city released a boil water notice for all residences and business that lost water service or experienced discolored water or lower pressure in connection to the River Street water main break.
The Department of Public Services released a statement at 2:30 p.m. on Friday urging residents and businesses whose water was affected to boil water before consumption.
The statement reads:
"Due to the water main break on River Street, and as a precaution, all residences and business which lost water service, or experienced discolored water or lower pressure (below 35 psi at the water main/hydrant), advised to boil water for one minute prior to use for human consumption."
The Public Works and Water departments spent two days trying to isolate the leak in order to repair it. The 24-inch main separated at a joint that was probably caused by expansions and contractions from changing temperatures.
The leak was reported at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday and crews dug out the area on Wednesday. However, crews struggled to track down and turn the appropriate gates -- shutoffs that allow water to be diverted or shut off to certain sections of the system. Many of the 400-odd gates in the city are obsolete and some have trouble functioning.
There's also been issues with the mapping system for the gates and the departments have been depending on old maps because the digital ones created in the 1990s are "muddled" said Public Services Commissioner Timothy Lescarbeau.
In this case, it turned out the culprit was a line long that removed when the flood control system was installed along River Street. A check on the other side of Marshall Street some years ago related to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art found concrete in the line. However, there was a section on the east side of the bridge that was still active.
During this time, a number or residences lost water or experienced low water pressure. Although the main ran down River Street, it also affected McCann Technical School and the City Yard on Hodges Cross Road and, to some extent, Walmart. McCann was closed and students at Colegrove Park Elementary reverted to remote education as a precaution.
Crews were able to find that old gate and shut off the water. A pressure collar with a rubber gasket was placed on the 140-year-old pipe late Thursday night that successfully closed the leak.
The city also released a fact sheet that stated no water samples have confirmed the presence of bacteria, and the notice is being issued as a precaution.
The sheet included:
Massachusetts drinking water standards required public water systems to maintain 20 pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure at each service connection to ensure safe water to our customers. These circumstances warranted advising those customers with discolored water, those who lost service and those whose pressures dropped to below 20 psi to boil their water upon resumption of water service. We determine pressure loss through hydrant pressures at less than 35 psi to have occurred in the following areas: River St., Yale St., Upper Meadow St., Williams St., North St., Cady St., Pitt St., Chesbro Ave., Chase Ave., North Holden St., Dover St., Miner St. WalMart, and McCann Tech.
Loss of pressure can result in backflow of water through and into the distribution system and may result in bacterial contamination. As a result, we advised customers in the affected area to boil their water and MassDEP is requiring the issuance of this public notice as a precautionary measure.
The fact sheet also stated :
We made repairs in the area and restored water pressure where pressure drops were identified. We maintained chlorine disinfection throughout our distribution system to kill bacteria and viruses that may be present. We will verify adequate pressure and will collect bacteria samples to confirm water quality within the area of concern and elsewhere in our distribution system. We will verify protection of the water system from backflow risks. We will let you know you are no longer advised to boil water due to this incident.
A public notice with more detail is available and is being distributed to affected areas. Further notice will be provided when the boil order is lifted.
For more information: please contact Public Services dispatch at 413-664-3047.
Since Wednesday morning, crews have been addressing a 24-inch main that sometime on Tuesday sprung a leak. Homes and businesses in the northern part of the city were most affected.
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North Adams to Begin Study of Veterans Memorial Bridge Alternatives
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Mayor Jennifer Macksey says the requests for qualifications for the planning grant should be available this month.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Connecting the city's massive museum and its struggling downtown has been a challenge for 25 years.
A major impediment, all agree, is the decades old Central Artery project that sent a four-lane highway through the heart of the city.
"As you know, the overpass was built in 1959 during a time when highways were being built, and it was expanded to accommodate more cars, which had little regard to the impacts of the people and the neighborhoods that it surrounded," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey on Friday. "It was named again and again over the last 30 years by Mass MoCA in their master plan and in the city in their vision 2030 plan ... as a barrier to connectivity."
The Reconnecting Communities grant was awarded a year ago and Macksey said a request for qualifications for will be available April 24.
She was joined in celebrating the grant at the Berkshire Innovation Center's office at Mass MoCA by museum Director Kristy Edmunds, state Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, District 1 Director Francesca Hemming and Joi Singh, Massachusetts administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.
The speakers also thanked the efforts of the state's U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, U.S. Rep. Richie Neal, Gov. Maura Healey and state Sen Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III, both of whom were in attendance.
Backed by a $750,000 federal grant for a planning study, North Adams and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art are looking to undo some of that damage.
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"It wasn't 100 percent consistent but I was afforded the opportunity to get to know other people with different religion, beliefs, backgrounds and culture and to be able to embrace that." click for more
With the area warming up, events are blooming in the Berkshires this weekend, including an egg hunt, live music, fitness events, and more.
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It took some time but, ultimately, with the help of the Berkshire Natural Resource Council, Wyrrick and Comstock were able to work out a plan for Many Forks Farm to continue under Comstock's ownership.
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