ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Richie Sarro from the Revere Water Department begins searching for the broken water pipe in Revere.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
REVERE — A water main break in Beachmont left about eight homes without water for several hours on Wednesday in Washington Square.
The break occurred around 8 a.m., and there was concern that it might have affected more houses, but Department of Public Works crews were able to isolate the problem on a 10-inch main quickly, limiting the shutdown to a small number of residences, according to Joe Gravellese, aide to Mayor Brian Arrigo.
Service was restored by approximately 5 p.m.
Gravellese said most of the affected houses were clustered around Washington Square.
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Work included identifying the break in the pipe, shutting down the main so repairs could be done, repairing the section of the pipe and then slowly restoring service, Gravellese said. Water is turned back on slowly so there isn’t too much immediate pressure on the newly repaired pipe, he said.
“It’s the shutdown of water flow through the pipe that causes residents to temporarily lose water service, but obviously crews can’t do the repairs unless the water is shut off,” he said.
This is the second water main break in a week in the city. On Dec. 14, a break on Washington Avenue impacted 150 houses on six side streets and one main street.
Gravellese said he couldn’t provide an exact cause for the breaks, but cold weather could be a factor.
“When aging pipes deal with this kind of extreme weather, sometimes they break,” he said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.