Water Main Break - An Affected Owner's Request - Photos

Here is an update. I added some photos the evening of October 16

I received an email from an owner, and in it she asked if I could provide additional information on the water main break on Gloucester. She stated that "Do you know when the work will be completed or when we can drink the water safely if we have it? Yesterday I called FUPM, and [I was told] there was another break, and there could possibly be more troubles.

On Sunday I went to the site several times and never saw anyone monitoring it. I asked the workers Sunday evening when they were going down into the large and deep hole if they were going to shore it first or use a trench box, and they said they did not have time; so, I am happy to hear they are now in accordance with OSHA rules.

Anyway, Norm, if you can shed more light on the situation, please do. I would appreciate knowing when the problem will be officially fixed."

Here was my emailed response, slightly edited for posting:

I am sorry for the delay in responding. This is my personal response to you, as a resident. Yes, I am a board member, but I am speaking for myself here and I have not been given a formal statement by the board and its position in this matter. So this is not an official statement of the board. 

I believe a notice has been posted on the quality of the water. The board is attempting to provide frequent information to the affected owners.

It's my understanding that notices have been posted in the foyers, providing affected residents with updates. I also understand that emails have been issued to affected residents, who have provided their email addresses to the association. I believe all of this is being coordinated by our president. Several board members have assisted in distributing these notices. 

I am not provided with this information in a timely manner. I'm not sure why, but most likely it is because this blog is not considered a source of "news"  in the association. For my part, I have not asked for frequent updates. So "up to the minute" information is not available on my site. It is not the part of any BLMH emergency notification system. Our official BLMH.org web site is apparently not structured for use as part of a "current events" news system. It is currently under the direction of our Communications Director and the board.

I understand this repair is almost complete at this time. Officially, it was not possible to provide you,  I or anyone with details about exact "fix date" because no one could, with any certainty, predict when the pipe would stop rupturing. Here is some info, which I can't yet verify. Multiple breaks, or ruptures occurred on several dates and in different locations on the same water main. I have been told there were a total of 5 breaks! This is unusual, but is no one's fault.  I am sure that is little consolation to you or any other owner living on Gloucester or Dover and affected by the failure.

It was the decision of the contractor to bring in an OSHA required [or mandated] box, and subsequent failures required a larger box, actually two. These boxes are costly to use and to transport, and require time to construct and position. However, the ultimate goal is to do repairs of this type as quickly as possible and at the most reasonable cost, to the association and the owners, and with a minimum of disruption to you and anyone else. While the association values the fees we so carefully collect and save, I see no attempt to penny pinch in this matter, and I believe the ultimate cost will reflect that.

As to the nature of the delays, it takes, for example, digging to determine what the problem is, beyond the obvious "it's a broken water main." Exactly where was it broken, what is the depth, the condition of the line, etc. is not obvious until the ground is broken and a hole is made. At the time of the break, the contractor estimated the type of equipment required on site and then got it here. The contractor is very experienced and is, I understand, one of the more proficient at this type of work and has much experience on our property with these types of problems. 

I'm sure the board will be looking closely at what failed, at the response of the contractor and also of FUPM, and of the communications issues raised by this water main failure. I would hope the purpose will be not to spread blame or point fingers, but to better understand how the association can better respond to this type of failure, so that communications system can improve. Believe me, your president takes all of the quite seriously, and so do I and the other members of the board. She has directed that you and others in the immediate area of the break get frequent notices posted. I believe the architectural director posted the notices you saw this morning (October 15) and that was after a late night budget workshop!

I wish I could tell you more, but that is what I know at this time (Friday morning, was my last communications with anyone and that was one of your affected neighbors). 

I have suggested a phone tree or similar for the future. That does not currently exist and would require the cooperation of owners, who would have to release their phone numbers for this use. Certainly other techniques will be considered. One of the issues with this type of problem is the infrequency. That makes emergency preparedness more difficult, but certainly possible. What would be the best method of communication? I suggest [you] make specific recommendations because you were one of the owners affected. You could direct that information to our Communications Director. 

Looking at this piping failure, I have been told that the last time a failure of this type occurred on Gloucester was 2002. Most of the other breaks on the property have been a single break, which was very easily repaired. My personal concern at this time is the question "is this indicative of the types of water line failures we can expect, in the future, as the infrastructure ages?" That is a serious question. I have been told by relay of information attributed to the contractor, that a part of the problem is that the soil composition as they moved east was that of a "peat bog." I assume that this is not typical on our property. But we'll have get more information on that. 

Norm

Some Additional Photos

Here are a few photos of the "dig". The hole is not quite filled, but the multiple breaks have apparently been fixed. I understand this stage of completion was reached on Friday. However, I first want to show this photo, taken on October 14. This shows a stack of two OSHA safety boxes. They are two high. Each box is about 8 ft. tall, so the stack shown in this photo is 16 feet in height! That gives some idea of the depth of the hole. However, I should point out that the initial hole was shallow. As the break, or breaks "progressed" the hole became both longer and deeper. This photo depicts what might have been the maximum depth.

The OSHA boxes were removed and these photos were taken Saturday afternoon:

Equipment waiting for transport and a partially filled hole.

A partially filled, barricaded and safety-taped hole: