SWAMPSCOTT — An early morning water main break left several Swampscott neighborhoods without water pressure on Friday.
“Much of the town was affected by a cross-main water break that occurred in the early morning hours of Friday,” the town of Swampscott said in a social media post.
“DPW crews isolated that break to the area around Beach Bluff Avenue and water service was restored to much of the town by 9:15 a.m. The area surrounding Beach Bluff Avenue will continue to be affected as the water main break is repaired throughout the day,” the town statement said.
Gino Cresta, Department of Public Works director, said the DPW was notified by the town’s police department at approximately 5:30 a.m. Police said multiple homeowners had reported they had little or no water pressure, he said.
The water department was called in and eventually found a break on Beach Bluff Avenue at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue. About 200 houses were left with “very little” water pressure until crews were able to isolate the break, Cresta said.
Water was out completely on Beach Bluff, Bellevue Road, Ingraham Terrace, and Mostyn Street. Two condominium complexes, Crown Pointe and Summit Estates, were also impacted, Cresta said.
“It impacted a large area because it was a 10-inch main,” said Cresta.
By 1 p.m. Friday, there were only about six houses that were still lacking water pressure in the area of Beach Bluff Avenue, and, with the help of a contractor the town called in, full pressure was expected to be restored by 6 p.m., Cresta said.
The main break was likely due to its age, Cresta said, explaining that the water main was approximately 70 years old. Isolating the break was no easy task, as the main was buried underneath a snow bank on Beach Bluff, he said.
The issue was compounded as the water main break came less than a day after a massive snowstorm battered the North Shore, which dumped about a foot of snow in Swampscott.
“My guys had just worked a 24-hour shift plowing snow so it couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Cresta.
