Water Over a Bridge Over Water

By Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - Many residents were mystified when Walnut Street was closed to both vehicles and pedestrians unexpectedly, the last weekend in June and into the following work week. The view from the Main Street end of Walnut Street didn’t seem to show any particular damage to the pavement itself.  So what was going on?

It turns out that around 10 PM Thursday night, June 25th, a 12 inch diameter water main that runs under Walnut Street ruptured, sending water cascading down towards Main Street. A passer by noticed the water flooding the street and called police, who then posted the event on social media and notified the water department.

The pipe that broke was at the upper end of the bridge that crosses the Assabet River there.  The gushing water washed out portions of the road surface and the subsoil under it, carrying the debris down as far as the intersection with River Street, the lowest point before Walnut Street rises back up to the intersection with Main Street.

The Maynard Department of Public Works Water Division crew was dispatched as soon as they were notified of the break.  They shut off the water on either side of the break to isolate it, and stop the loss of water.  They called in RH White to repair the main and inspectors from VHB were brought in to evaluate the bridge structure for safety.

Water Department personnel then posted a notice on the Town’s web site to further inform the public:  ​https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/541

Although the pipe was subsequently repaired, the shut-offs reopened, and water pressure in the system returned to normal, the extent of the damage to the road and bridge structure was still unknown.  To guard against possible roadway cave-ins, the street had to remain closed.

RH White, a contractor (https://www.rhwhite.com/), arrived at the site to repair the water main, after which the town opened the shut off valves (known as water gate valves) to restore water pressure to the surrounding neighborhoods that were affected.

Once that was done their task was to dig a number of excavations at that end of the bridge so that inspectors from VHB, another contractor ( https://www.vhb.com/bridges-and-structures/ ), could inspect the bridge structure itself to ensure that it had not been weakened by the force of the water.  RH White workers then had to replace the subsoil, compact everything down to proper specifications, and repave the surface.

By midday Tuesday, June 30th, when I took these photographs, they were still performing this work, but they told me that they expected to be finished by the end of the day on Wednesday, July 1st, at which time, the street could be reopened.
(When I next drove by the area on the afternoon of July 2nd, the work was done and the barriers were removed.)

I tried to reach the pertinent town officials for comment at the time, but no one could return my requests on such short notice, so I had to wait until after the July 4th holiday to finish this story.  Some bridges in Maynard are owned and maintained by the state, but this one is owned and maintained by the town.  However, occasionally the state provides financial assistance for town owned bridge repairs.

Commentary

We’ve come a long way from the days when water was provided only from private wells and people relied on outhouses rather than indoor plumbing.  The mid to late 1800s were a time of rapid development in public water systems.  Maynard started building its public water system in 1889.  As the town grew, more and more water mains were installed.  Many houses were built in the early 1900s.  The first house I lived in, at 5 Maple Court, was built in 1920.  Back when it was built, it had fresh water plumbing, but only an outhouse in the back yard until later on when a bathroom was built onto the back of the building, behind the kitchen.
I say all this, because when more houses were built in town (such as in the “Presidentials” neighborhood), water mains were added beneath the streets to serve them.  By now, it’s 100 years later, and the metal pipes that form the network of water mains underground don’t last forever.  Corrosion, vibration from traffic traveling overhead, shifting soils, minor earthquake tremors, and other factors mean that they must eventually replaced.

Today, Maynard has over 58 miles of fresh water pipes running under its streets. These pipes are all of varying sizes and ages.  Even in the neighborhood where I now live, in the “Maze” (the upper left area of this map), most of the housing was built in the 1950s and 1960s, so most of the pipes and gate valves that serve them are now 60, 70, or 80 years old.
(Image from the town’s Graphical Information System, https://www.axisgis.com/MaynardMA/ )

The cost of digging up and replacing them all today would be astronomical.  So the best the town can do is plan to upgrade them in stages, according to a Water Master Plan (See ​https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/623/Water-Master-Plan ).
In spite of our best efforts, it’s difficult to predict when conditions underground will stress some pipes more than others.  Since water pipes are made up of separate sections, coupled together, it’s often those joints where failure is most likely.  As there are thousands of such joints, and they must be buried deep enough in the ground to prevent freezing in the winter (that is, below the frost line), inspecting them all periodically is just not practical.
As a result, the town has to be both proactive (implement the master plan as best it can) and reactive; that is be ready to repair the unexpected failures when they occur.  And keep enough money in the budget to cover the cost.

If you see something, ...

We are all fortunate that someone noticed this unexpected flow of water along the street and called the police to report it.  If they hadn’t done that, the damage could have been a lot worse.  Water Department personnel have asked me to remind everyone that if you see anything that might indicate a water or sewer emergency, please call the Police Department right away.  You can call the dispatcher at 978-897-1011 or call 911 if you only have emergency access on your phone.  The police department can receive calls any time of day or night, even when other Town Government Offices, including the Water Department, are closed.  The Police have information readily at hand to contact Water Department workers who can be dispatched to the scene.

NOTE:  This story was updated on Wednesday, 8 July 2026

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