Multiple water-sewer emergencies plague Nahant

NAHANT – It was a tough week for water-and-sewer infrastructure as Town Administrator Mark Cullinan estimated that three water main breaks and a sewer main break within a week will cost $30,000, but will be covered by a reserve fund rather than a rate increase.”The (sewer) break will be about $20,000? and a total of $10,000 to $12,000 for the water breaks,” Cullinan said Monday. “But we have reserves in the water-sewer fund for emergencies.”It was a week of emergencies.The town reported three water line breaks within a 20-minute period Oct. 21 that left about 100 homes with reduced or no water pressure.In a previous article in the Daily Item, Police Lt. Thomas Hutton described the breaks as “unheard of.”Cullinan said Monday that the repairs were completed by the Department of Public Works and private contractors, but work lasted until the late night.Last Wednesday at 6 a.m., the town reported a break in the forced sewer main just beyond the Ward Road pump station. At the Thursday evening board of selectmen meeting, Cullinan described the break as essentially “a hole” in the forced sewer line – which carries all of the town’s sewage to Lynn for treatment – that crews unearthed and then wrapped and sealed. But he also noted that Town Meeting had voted to approve $150,000 to replace that line and that the repairs were to begin this week.But last Wednesday, the town had to set up pumps and trucks to relay the waste to Lynn for nearly nine hours.”It was discovered about 6 a.m. By by 3 p.m., it was fixed,” Cullinan said Thursday evening. However, no sewage service was disrupted.”We were running pumps and trucks most of the day but nobody ever noticed.”Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].