IMPORTANT SAFETY NEWS FOR MASSACHUSETTS

[Snaploud]

'Boil-water' order issued for nearly 2 million in Mass.


By Martin Finucane, Beth Daley, and John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff, and Sean Teehan and Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondents
A major pipe bringing water to the Boston area has sprung a "catastrophic" leak and is dumping eight million gallons of water per hour into the Charles River. Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and issued a "boil-water" order for Boston and dozens of other communities.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/05/catastrophic_le.html

The police on bullhorns aren't being very effective. They only said it once when going by my apartment complex (only heard "boil" after tuning down the tv).

 

[scotpens]

Sorry, can't resist the obvious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8h2gVcDQ9E

Seriously, that must be a real bitch. I hope they get the problem fixed soon and that nobody becomes ill from contaminated water.

 

[bigdaddy]

So glad my water doesn't come from Quabbin, the water tastes like shit anyways.

 

[Snaploud]

Sorry, can't resist the obvious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8h2gVcDQ9E

Seriously, that must be a real bitch. I hope they get the problem fixed soon and that nobody becomes ill from contaminated water.

It's not so much contaminated as we're being forced to use untreated water (from various sources) due to the major leak from our regular source. In other words, we really don't know what's in the water we're getting right now. It could be fine. It could create problems for people who drink it without boiling (especially the already sick).

It's funny that this comes on the same day Concord banned bottled water. They're just outside the affected area, so they'll be fine. I just find it amusing.

 

[Snaploud]

Updates can be found here:

http://www.mwra.com/updates/leak.html

 

[RJDiogenes]

Looks like I'm in the effected area; but I always boil my water for Tea, anyway, and I have bottled water in the downstairs office. My Parents and most of the rest of my family are South of the effected area.

 

[Roshi]

WTF has Walter Bishop been doing again?

 

[SmoothieX]

Guess that transmission main redundancy study we did for the MWRA last year will go back to front burner status pretty soon.

 

[JiNX-01]

... the water tastes like shit anyways.

How do you know?

 

[TrekkieMonster]

Yeah, this is very interesting.

We were actually at my MIL's house in Central MA (an area not affected) when my nephew saw the notice on the TV. We had the forethought to stop at a local grocery store and pick up jugs of water, and they'd already started limiting purchases even there. When I went to the store near my home in Boston this morning they were almost out, and were limiting people to 1 gallon. Not good.

Guess that transmission main redundancy study we did for the MWRA last year will go back to front burner status pretty soon.

As I mentioned in another thread, when I heard about this I immediately thought of you. I think I mentioned once before to you that I had this strange fascination with the Quabin tunnel project and followed it closely while they were building it, and I've been interested in the restoration of the the old system as a back up. Just ironic that this happened. At least the state has a back up plan in mind; just too bad it's 3 or 4 years from completion.

 

[bigdaddy]

... the water tastes like shit anyways.

How do you know?

It's called a joke, you might want to look up that. Boston water is from Quabbin, Chicopee water is Quabbin. Chicopee water taste like what I think washing machine water would taste like.

 

[sidious618]

... the water tastes like shit anyways.

How do you know?

It's called a joke, you might want to look up that.

Her's was a joke, too, bigdaddy. You may want to look that up.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

There was a boil water warning here in my city a few years ago. I can't remember what was the cause, but i just remember the cops patrolling the streets telling everyone not to drink the water.

 

[Spot's Meow]

The tap water is so bad in my city we all have to buy bottled water or water purifiers anyway. It's got so much crap in it it looks like milk when you poor it into a glass. Yuck.

Anyway, this isn't very good news and hopefully it all gets sorted out as soon as possible.

 

[Captain Ice]

I've lived through a few of those. Taught me to always have a case of bottled water on hand.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I also use a Brita filter for my Iced Tea and Kool-Aid, but it still needs to be boiled first.

 

[Snaploud]

The boil-water order remains in place because a small portion of the water flowing through pipes is essentially pond water, and while the water is being heavily chlorinated to kill off bacteria, health and environmental officials say it is not advisable to drink.


There are two reasons: the high chlorine levels, and officials cannot know for sure that bacteria levels are safe until test results come back, likely today.

State and Boston health officials said they have not detected any outbreaks of intestinal illness from contaminated water, nor do they expect to at this point, given the long incubation period of water-borne diseases. It generally takes five to seven days for people to get sick after drinking dirty water.



“If people are feeling ill now, it’s not from the water,’’ said Dr. Anita Barry, director of the infectious disease bureau for the Boston Public Health Commission. “People should not be heading to the ER.’’

Barry and DeMaria said that while the water flowing into people’s homes yesterday was being treated with sterilizing chemicals, contamination could remain in the pipes from the brief period on Saturday when some of the water from the backup supply was not yet being treated.



The MWRA began drawing water from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir Saturday night to keep water pressure high enough for firefighting and flushing toilets. That water went untreated for several hours but is now being chlorinated.

“The water is being treated, but it’s not officially safe,’’ DeMaria said.



“Everyone is being extra cautious, but we mostly worry about the people who are immune-compromised’’ and might be less able to withstand an illness, Barry said. This includes people with AIDS or who are receiving chemotherapy for cancer. “If people follow the advice and not drink water from the tap the risk would be tiny,’’ she said.



DeMaria said it is safe to wash one’s hands in tap water and then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...05/03/chance_of_getting_ill_may_be_minuscule/

 

[SmoothieX]

Guess that transmission main redundancy study we did for the MWRA last year will go back to front burner status pretty soon.

As I mentioned in another thread, when I heard about this I immediately thought of you. I think I mentioned once before to you that I had this strange fascination with the Quabin tunnel project and followed it closely while they were building it, and I've been interested in the restoration of the the old system as a back up. Just ironic that this happened. At least the state has a back up plan in mind; just too bad it's 3 or 4 years from completion.

I'm not originally from MA, and just began learning the history of the Quabbin when I began working on the project. It's interesting how the state acquired several towns and flooded them back in the day.

Where I am the water is fine. But you can see the impact of the MWRA pumping from the Sudbury Reservoir. There is a spillway near me that's usually roaring this time of year, and the water yesterday was well below that elevation. The river downstream was a trickle.

Not surprisingly, when I got into work today, the project manager had forwarded a message from our former client, one of the big consultants for the MWRA, saying that they were re-assessing their priorities and would be in touch next week. This little hiccup is causing them to re-visit their priorities.

 

[bigdaddy]

2 million people don't have water, I guess it is a good thing it was only 85+ yesterday.

Quabbin is awesome, used to be better but they closed off some of the cool parts. If you are ever in Western or Central Mass you should check it out. It's interesting that only 75 years ago they flooded 4 towns / villages.

 

[Snaploud]

Fully treated water is apparently flowing right now, but the boil order is still in effect until testing can determine safety.

The 120” pipe connection has been repaired, pressurized and put back into service. Fully treated water has been distributed to the MWRA system since about 6 PM on Sunday and is expected to continue. Water pressure in MWRA service area is in typical ranges.



Please remember that a Boil Water Order is in effect for the following communities until otherwise notified and water use should be restricted to essential use only.

Essentially every community provided two sets of coliform/water quality samples on Sunday (thank you). Communities will collect a second round of coliform samples today. Collection of these samples will assist with resolution of the open boil water order and we again thank you for your cooperation. The MWRA Chelsea Water Quality Lab will remain open.

http://www.mwra.com/updates/leak.html

The test results will let state and local officials know whether they can move forward with plans to officially end the crisis within the next 48 hours. Regardless of this afternoon's results, more testing will be required before a formal end is declared, officials said.

"The pipe has been fixed, the water has been reintroduced to the system,'' MWRA spokeswoman Ria Convery said this afternoon. "Now we are waiting water quality tests. We sample our pipes. The communities sample their pipes We are still looking at another day or two before we get an A-OK on everything.''

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/05/pipe_tests_unde.html