HULL, Mass. — Tuesday was a busy day in Hull, where a water main break and an oil spill had emergency crews scrambling.
A main break at Nantasket and Standish Avenues stopped the flow of water to much of the town, but just a few hours later, an oil spill in the streets surrounding Atlantic Avenue sent emergency crews on a hunt to find what caused it.
Outside his Hull home, Skip Flem heard what sounded like cars driving through a rushing river.
"The water pipe broke and it was gushing down the street at 6:00 this morning," Flem said. "Probably a four-foot path of water going down the gutter."
FOX25 found Skip outside his Nantasket Beach home, scooping rainwater to use to flush the toilet.
Aquarion Water already had plans to work on infrastructure in the area, but a joint connecting the water main didn't hold, and they were forced to shut off the water. School was also canceled in the town.
But it was only a few hours later when a river of oil wound its way through the streets around Atlantic Avenue.
"I smelled diesel at about 10:30," said area resident Mo Kelly.
A river of oil wound its way through streets around Atlantic Avenue.
"The postman came through, he said it's down the street here, down here and then up," Kelly added, gesturing outside the residences where he works. "The town DPW came through and said it was like five streets down the street too."
"We saw the rainbows coming down the street and one of our customers came in and said they smelled a strong gas smell," local business owner Justine said.
We found fire crews trying to locate the source of the spill, raising concern for the Department of Environmental Protection, which was also on scene, assessing the damage.
"People were like, ‘it’s going to go in the drain, it’s going to get in the ocean,’" Lyndsey Capen said.
FOX25's Elizabeth Hopkins spoke with Aquarion Water by phone Tuesday. Officials told her the water was being restored slowly as of 3:30 p.m.
They recommend that anyone with continued water discoloration to give them a call.
The fire department says they believe the oil leak came from an unknown vehicle.