Water break on Route 1 north in Saugus

SAUGUS – Workers were at the scene of major water break on Route 1 north in Saugus Saturday morning.Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato said the report of the break, just before the Kowloon Restaurant in the northbound lane, came in at about 6:45 a.m.”We’re almost down to (the source) of the break,” he said just before 10 a.m. Saturday. “It’s either a 6-inch water main that’s been there since, I don’t know 9,000 years, or it’s an old iron service line that went to a home on the northbound side.”Attubato said water service to the surrounding area has been turned off until the repair is completed. Northbound traffic is down to one lane in the vicinity of the break.”We want to get this done as fast as we can. It’s Memorial Day weekend and these businesses don’t want to be left without water service.”Attubato said “eight or nine” employees from his department were working at the scene.Water breaks along this stretch of Route 1 are routine in the winter months, but Attubato said it’s become a year-round problem.Saugus officials have been arguing for years that the commonwealth should assume part if not most of the cost of repairing these breaks under Route 1, and for replacement of the water/sewer infrastructure, since the pipes in most cases pre-date installation of the busy state highway.”Whenever this happens we have to pay for the police details, for Saugus police and for state police,” he said. “We have had our state representatives try to get us some help,” he said, noting that the town’s current state representative, Donald Wong, owner of the Kowloon Restaurant, certainly has a personal interest in the matter.”This will probably cost between $10,000 and $15,000,” he said. “My budget is dwindling to nothing. Would have been better if this happened after July 1, in the new fiscal year.”