Lack of moisture affecting underground infrastructure

[unhappycamper]

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_de3d52cc-29ab-11e4-b74b-001a4bcf6878.html



Brownsville Public Utilities Board crews work with a bilge pump and machinery to repair an underground water line that broke Thursday at Southmost Boulevard and East 20th Street in Brownsville. Dry conditions were the suspected cause of the water line break.

Lack of moisture affecting underground infrastructure
Posted: Thursday, August 21, 2014 10:25 pm
BY STEVE CLARK STAFF WRITER

You know it’s dry when the pipes start breaking underground.

Brownsville Public Utilities Board crews were called out Thursday to replace a 12-inch water line that had ruptured, leaving residents in the area around Southmost Boulevard and East 20th Street without potable water all day.

The break was attributed to excessively dry soil that had contracted, putting pressure on the cement water line. This particular pipe was laid in 1980, making it one of the city’s oldest water lines, according to BPUB spokesman Ryan Greenfeld.

Cement pipe, as opposed to fiberglass or PVC, is the most susceptible to soil shifting, he said.

[Demeter]

1. I didn't know that could happen

not that it's likely to be a problem here in the Great Lakes State. With the ice in winter, and the steady rain in summer, we are not lacking for water currently, unlike a few years ago.

[unhappycamper]

2. Boston gets its water from the Quabbin Reservoir.

About 20 ~ 25 years ago Boston was forced by the EPA to clean up the Charles River which created/expanded our Deer Island wastewater plant.



During the 90s the project took a close look at the main line feeding water into Boston. As they started digging, they ended up replacing sections of the water main that were made put of wood.

Bottom line: We have good water in Boston.

[MisterP]

3. fun fact: that's the reservoir that inspired Lovecraft to write "The Colour Out of Space"