BLANDFORD – After going a week without water service to their homes, 20 Blandford residents saw service restored Friday, ending a five-day period that started when a water mainline under the North Street Bridge froze and subsequently cracked.
Blandford Selectman and Water Commissioner William Levakis said that the town had been working with local contractors, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to fix the damage and that tests were run over the weekend to ensure the water was potable.
“It was a slow process, but we cleaned up the lines and chlorinated them,” said Levakis this morning. “We took more than one test (Friday) and yesterday at different ounces, brought them to the lab and we were in communication with DEP (Department of Environmental Protection).”
Levakis stated that workers installed all new piping and insulation to ensure a similar situation doesn’t occur again.
“There’s some more work that needs to be done, but our concern was to bring the people water,” he said, adding that some of the residents who were also left without heat stayed at a hotel. “Some of the news media asked if we were going to pay for it (the hotel), and I told them I’ll deal with that later.”
The water crisis lasted from 6 p.m. on President’s Day till Friday afternoon, and Levakis stated that he and fellow Water Commissioner Mark Boomsma narrowed the source of the problem to the mainline under the North Street Bridge, which runs parrallel with the Massachusetts Turnpike.
“We weren’t getting a response from anybody (for help) so we went to the news media,” said Levakis. “Once news got out, everyone wanted to help us, but by that time, we already had a plan in place.”
“I give a lot of credit to all the workers on the job. They did a fabulous job, unprecedented,” he added. “That was a big, big job. It came out good and when we saw water come out of those hydrants, it was a real good feeling.”
Levakis said that further tests are being run this week and that work is continuing on reinforcing the pipe along the bridge.
