97-year-old pipe fails, causing a water main break in East Bridgewater

EAST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — A water main break on Central Street in East Bridgewater caused flooding in the roadway, Friday morning.

Adilson Barbosa lives just down the road from where the pipe burst, telling Boston25 he was woken up by firefighters around 7 a.m.

“It wasn’t raining. I was like, ‘What’s all this water?’ It wasn’t raining, and the water was coming down the street,” Barbosa remembered.

Commissioner of Public Works for the city of Brockton, Patrick Hill, explained that it was a transmission water line that failed.

“Down at Silver Lake in Pembroke, they lost power for about 10 seconds. Usually, that’s what it takes for the generator to kick on, so in that time, what happens is sometimes it sends a surge into the line from being off and then being on 10 seconds later,” Commissioner Hill said.

The pipe that failed is nearly a century old, going all the way back to 1928.

“This happens a couple times a year, it’s nothing that we don’t do. Normally, we do all our own water main repairs in the city. It’s just size-wise, it’s a big pipe, a 24-inch cast-iron water main,” Commissioner Hill said.

According to the commissioner, a different section of this exact pipe broke in 2015, causing a massive hole just feet away from Friday’s break.

The commissioner said there is no impact to residents, and water usage can continue as normal. He expects the repair to be wrapped up by Friday evening.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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