SALEM — A water main break around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday sent 150,000 gallons of water up through Main Street and forced emergency workers to reroute traffic Wednesday night and into yesterday afternoon.
"(The water) lifted an 85-by-20-foot section of pavement, just heaved it up. Powerful stuff," said Rick Russell, the director of public works.
The problem was the cap on a 10-inch water main, which had been installed in 1905, Russell said. Water pressure blew the 6-inch cap completely off the pipe at a T-shaped junction, Russell said.
The break was almost directly across from fire Chief Kevin Breen's house at 270 Main St.
"I was actually here in my office (at Central Fire Station), interviewing firefighter candidates," Breen said. "My son called me at the same time and said, 'Dad, there's a massive water break.'"
Breen's son, Daniel Breen, 15, wasn't the first to report the break, though, and crews were already on their way.
The water line break left 20 water customers — both residents and businesses — without water for nine hours, until about 1:30 a.m. yesterday, Russell said. The Breen family was among those without water service.
Randy's Barber & Hairstyling Shop at 275 Main St. didn't lose water, according to Dan Brent, who answered the phone there. Still, the water main break did have an effect, Brent said.
"(It was) a little bit slower than normal, but people were able to get through," Brent said shortly after the road was opened again.
Public works crews, who were just finishing their shifts, worked through the night to get the water main repaired. And yesterday afternoon, crews were paving over the repair.
"These guys were coming off their regular shift ... and they worked continuously, tirelessly, through the night," Russell said.
Salem's municipal water system serves about 60 percent of the town's population. But the system dates back to the late 19th century, when a gravity-fed system brought water from Canobie Lake to buildings around Main Street, Russell said.
Some of the pipes in Salem's water system are part of the original water system, he said.
In this case, both pipe and cap were replaced, Russell said. The pipe had a lead joint, which had to be replaced, he said.
Russell thanked police for redirecting traffic around the break and the Salem Fire Department for providing lighting for the overnight repair.
The water main break was near the town's central fire station, although Russell said emergency vehicles were able to get by the road work to respond to emergencies.
Main Street was opened to traffic again at 3:10 p.m. yesterday.
