Beacon Hill flooded by water main break
Gate valve broke just after midnight
Waters over a foot deep gushed through Beacon Hill early Tuesday morning after a gate valve broke on a water main, sending waves crashing into homes on Hancock Street.
“It was like Niagara Falls, or the Colorado River, coming down here,” Hancock Street resident Carol Faucher told the Herald.
According to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, a gate valve broke while a contractor was at work on it at 12:30 a.m. The Boston Fire Department responded to Myrtle and Hancock streets and went door-to-door to make sure residents were safe.
The contractor doing work at the site, D’Allessandro Corp., said the company was following regulations.
Jon D’Allessandro, president of the company, said his company was working on 12-inch line adjacent to the 30-inch main.
“In an email to BWSC dated June 11th, we requested that the 30 (inch) water main be shut down and remain closed for the duration of our work,” D’Allessandro said.
“We followed all contractual and safety procedures and an inspector from Boston Water and Sewer was onsite monitoring the project when the 30 (inch) water main’s valve gave way early this morning,” he said.
Fire Chief James Greene told reporters there were no evacuations needed and no injuries to report. The city has shut off water in the area while repairing the main and utility companies are on the scene assessing other damages.
The force of the water dislodged bricks from the neighborhood’s historic sidewalks and sent muddy water flooding into basement dwellings. Industrial vacuums snaked from work trucks in the street, and ruined rugs and garbage bags of belongings packed the curbs.
Stuart Eicoff, operator of Beacon Capitol Market on Myrtle Street, said he’s used to seeing construction mishaps due to the neighborhood’s age and narrow streets. But even he was shocked by Tuesday’s flood.
“This is a whole other level,” he said. “What surprised me was how high the water got.”
Faucher told the Herald she was awoken by her grandson around 1 a.m., just after the surge of water started. Her husband, Jim, urged her to the front door to watch the river of water rush down their street.
In daylight, the Fauchers led inspectors through their basement bedroom, where the floor was soaked with mud and dirt left by the flood.
One block up the street, next to a massive sinkhole, Hancock Street resident Frances Ayres remains without power. Her building sits right at the center of the disaster, intersecting with Myrtle Street.
“I would be working from home right now, but without power,” she said, shrugging. The Herald gained entry to a Hancock Street condo building’s basement, where tenants’ belongings were stored. Their personal items sat ruined in heaps of mud and the sludge that stained a charcoal grill stored to one side indicated the water and mud rose at least a foot in the basement.
A Boston Sewer and Water spokesperson said individuals affected can file a claim with the city.