Related: Boston Boiling Over
Make that three.
Bottoms up, Boston!
"Hope of fix within days; Pipe repair underway to restore clean-water flow to Greater Boston" by Beth Daley and Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | May 3, 2010
WESTON — Engineers and welders successfully rejoined two huge water pipes inside a muddy crater early this morning, and state officials said they hope to restore clean water within days to 2 million residents of Greater Boston.
People in the city and 29 of its most populous suburbs, whose clean-water supply was cut off by a catastrophic and unprecedented pipe rupture, remained without clean tap water for a second day yesterday. The region braced for the start of school and the workweek today while still facing orders to boil any water used for drinking and cooking.
State officials said they were unable to explain exactly what caused the rupture in a collar helping to connect two major water pipes. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said he would convene hearings as soon as this week to probe the failure, and Attorney General Martha Coakley said she would review reports of price gouging by stores selling bottled water....
And state and local officials were attempting to make sure water was available for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly in nursing homes, as some communities began asking for help distributing water to needy residents. The state ordered 2.5 million gallons of drinkable water and asked the federal government for help in securing additional supplies if necessary.
Officials said they remain uncertain when they will be able to restore clean water to the affected communities, but Governor Deval Patrick said he hoped it would be “days, not weeks.’’
Yesterday, as area temperatures hit the high 80s, people flocked to convenience stores and groceries in search of bottled water, amid scattered reports of shortages. Minor rituals of daily life — brushing teeth, washing hands, doing dishes — suddenly seemed freighted by the risk of disease.
State officials urged residents to take seriously an order to boil all water used for drinking and cooking, even as they acknowledged that the likelihood of becoming sick from the water is small. Pipes into affected homes and businesses are now delivering mostly-clean water through a backup system, but about 3 to 5 percent is “pond water’’ from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.
The water is being heavily chlorinated to kill bacteria, but the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority said people shouldn’t drink it because no test results are back yet on bacteria levels.
The crisis began early Saturday, when the metal collar, which wrapped around a rubber gasket, ruptured in a pipe system that delivers water from the Quabbin Reservoir to Boston. The collar, along with millions of gallons of water, then washed into the nearby Charles River.
In Weston yesterday, workers brought in a replacement collar and began welding it to the ruptured pipes.
By 10:30 last night, workers had made significant progress welding the collar to the pipes and were hopeful that they could begin testing the reconnected pipes for leaks overnight, according to Ria Convery, a spokeswoman for the MWRA. If the pipes hold, workers will surround them with concrete and will then resume pumping water from the Quabbin into the system.
“So far, the repairs are going well,’’ Convery said. “We are hopeful that [pressure testing] will be completed by the morning. Things are moving along quickly and in the right direction.’’
The next step, she said, will be to test the quality of the water. Even after the pipes are repaired, the order to boil water will remain in place for at least two days until officials can conduct at least two separate water-quality tests to confirm that the region’s water supply is again safe to drink....
Patrick, who visited the leak site twice over the weekend and has held three news conferences about the crisis, said “the extent of the damage is not as great as we feared.’’ But, he said, workers should search for the broken collar and then conduct a “forensic analysis’’ to determine how it broke.
Laskey said the failure could have been caused by the design, construction, or installation of the collar. Officials did rule out one theory discussed early in the crisis: that a minor earthquake could have jolted the pipes....
Why must government put out the most outlandish and outrageous lie$?
Also see: HAARP Here?
Right.
Across the region, homeowners and businesses seemed to be doing their best to adapt to life without drinking tap water. But there were telltale signs that life in the Boston area was at least slightly off kilter.
Dunkin’ Donuts, for one, was not selling coffee at its stores in the region....
Of course, Dunkin' is the official coffee of the Red Sox, who are owned by the Globe's parent, the New York Times.
Yeah, I AM TIRED of the SELF-SERVING AGENDA-PUSHING and certain kind of supremacism down at the paper -- although they are only giving what few readers they have left what they want.
The demand for bottled water — a commodity often vilified by environmentalists but suddenly a mandatory staple of Boston life — prompted inevitable shortages and allegations of unfair price hikes. Coakley promised to investigate “anecdotal reports’’ of price gouging.
They love bashing or insulting everyone and anyone save those not you know.... Look at them crap on their own agenda-pushing stooges even.
That's why I don't like water from the tap, even out here.
Related: Coca - Cola Admits That Dasani is Nothing But Tap Water
It's all shit water, ain't it?
“If we discover that businesses are engaging in price gouging, we will take appropriate legal action,’’ she said.
Not every community was affected. Cambridge was an oasis of calm amid the water crisis because it has its own supply of drinking water, from Fresh Pond. Towns west of Weston were also blissfully unaffected by the crisis.
Globe in its bubble.
Meanwhile, MAKE DO the rest of you stoo-pid serfs!
"Abruptly, making do becomes a new normal" by Brian MacQuarrie and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff | May 3, 2010
For much of Eastern Massachusetts yesterday, a ruptured pipe washed away the routine.
Two million residents grappled with the sudden challenge of living without safe tap water, finding new ways to brush their teeth, wash their dishes, and even to get a cup of coffee.
They stood in long lines at stores, boiled water in big pots, and began rethinking old habits to determine what’s safe.
“It’s awful,’’ said Dawn Giordano, 40, of Watertown, as she watched her sons play lacrosse. “I’m trying to avoid things with water.’’
Many people tried to muddle through with good humor. At the sink, they reached for bottled water instead of the faucet. They drank soft drinks instead of hot coffee. They used paper plates and plastic forks.
But in a region saturated with coffee-and-doughnut shops, the starkest effect may have been caffeine withdrawal.
“You can’t get coffee any where,’’ said Mark Norton, 30, who went to five shops before he finally gave up and made the instant variety at home in Medford. “There’s probably going to be tons of road rage because nobody can get their coffee today.’’
I'm so glad I'm out here.
On Newbury Street in Boston, the coffee shops turned away hope-filled cappuccino fans who thought their espresso-based drinks would be safe....
Are you guys stoo-pid or just naive?
Schools began taking precautions before classes resumed today. In Boston, all public schools will have bottled water available and will serve normal breakfasts and lunches, including prepackaged meals that can be prepared without water, according to Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s office.
Worse than their regular fare.
At some schools, students were asked to bring their own water to school today. Boston College alerted students and staff that they should boil water for drinking, cooking, and brushing.
Many residents worried how the emergency would affect the elderly, pregnant women, and people who do not have transportation to buy bottled water....
Many residents traveled to unaffected communities to stock up on safe water....
As residents recalibrated their lives, the boundary between safe and unsafe sometimes seemed blurred despite assurances that certain activities, like bathing and showering, are fine.
Tim Sisko, 26, of Dorchester, didn’t know quite what to believe.
“I can’t get coffee. I can’t get anything,’’ Sisko said as he left a Quincy convenience store with bottled drinks. “I can’t even shower. I don’t want to get any nasty water on me.’’
In Arlington, on a street shaded with rows of maple trees, the emergency cut into a summerlike weekend.
Jim Flanagan said he skipped Saturday night baths for his three children, stocked up on water and hand-purifying gel, and made sure that his infant daughter had only milk. He and his wife sacrificed their Saturday night glass of wine, after the children went to bed, so they would not have to wash the dishes.
That's a real sacrifice, isn't it?
Concerns about food safety extended from home kitchens to those in popular restaurants. At Legal Sea Foods, president Roger Berkowitz said, tons of clean ice had been acquired from unaffected sources.
You will see that name again, of course.
The
So self-serving.
Related: Fenway Franks, Get Your Fenway Franks Here
Yeah, eat before you go to the game.
The reason being you can't flush the toilets.
In Marblehead, the Jewish Community Center closed its pool, locker rooms, and men’s and women’s health centers until the ban is lifted....
Sigh; I'm not even going to type it.
I'll tel you one thing: water can never wash away the stinking smell of elitist arrogance:
"City becomes an oasis for those in search of untainted taps" by David Abel, Globe Staff | May 3, 2010
CAMBRIDGE — “We’re just lucky that officials a century ago planned for this and made the necessary investments,’’ Jean Rogers, a municipal park ranger who patrols the reservoir that provides drinking water to the city’s 105,000 residents, said, pointing out that nine years ago, the city spent about $80 million to build a new treatment plant that filters 14 million gallons of water every day.
With their water unaffected by the burst pipe in Weston that left 29 communities in Greater Boston without safe drinking water, Cambridge attracted lots of people from out of town, whether to shower at a friend’s apartment, fill or buy jugs of water, or sip ice-filled tap water at local restaurants.
Every table was taken early in the afternoon at 1369 Coffee House in Inman Square, where Steve Singer, the longtime manager, scrawled a note on the door that read: “Our Water is Good! (Separate Water Source.)’’
“Today’s the busiest Sunday I’ve ever seen,’’ said Singer, describing the iced coffee as “liquid gold.’’
Well, I'M GLAD SOMEONE BENEFITED off this pain-in-the-ass inconvenience.
Pffft!
Yann Benetreau decided to drink beer instead of water on Saturday. He also went to a 7-11 in Central Square to buy bottled water, where a clerk told him — inaccurately — that it wasn’t safe to drink the Cambridge water.
“We thought it was better not to take any risks,’’ said Benetreau, 29, a Boston University graduate student who spent the afternoon drinking an ice-filled glass of
I thought he was going for a beer?
Across the street at S&S Restaurant, which received about 100 calls to see if the deli was open, waiters served tall glasses of the city’s tap water to more than 2,000 people who came for brunch....
“What happened this weekend certainly makes us feel better about having an independent water system,’’ said Sam Corda, managing director of the Cambridge Water Department, noting that water costs residents about three-quarters of what they would pay if they used the MWRA....
You can stay that way.
--more--"
Besides, it's safe to drink the water now:
Public health officials said yesterday that there is little risk of people in Greater Boston developing intestinal illness — even if they accidentally ingest a small amount of tap water.
I'll skip it anyway. You go ahead though!
The boil-water order remains in place because a small portion of the water flowing through pipes is essentially pond water, and while the water is being heavily chlorinated to kill off bacteria, health and environmental officials say it is not advisable to drink.
There are two reasons: the high chlorine levels, and officials cannot know for sure that bacteria levels are safe until test results come back, likely today.
“We don’t expect an outbreak’’ of intestinal illness, said Dr. Al DeMaria, state epidemiologist for the Department of Public Health.
Yeah, wait until you $ee why.
Boiling water and other measures are “entirely precautionary,’’ he said. “People should keep up the measures but they should not be overly fearful.’’
Like being JERKED AROUND?
State and Boston health officials said they have not detected any outbreaks of intestinal illness from contaminated water, nor do they expect to at this point, given the long incubation period of water-borne diseases. It generally takes five to seven days for people to get sick after drinking dirty water.
So anyone who comes in later will be told no, couldn't be dirty water.
“If people are feeling ill now, it’s not from the water,’’ said Dr. Anita Barry, director of the infectious disease bureau for the Boston Public Health Commission. “People should not be heading to the ER.’’
And not later, either. Yeah, don't access the health system.
Both the Boston and the state health departments have surveillance systems designed to detect outbreaks of illness.
Hospital emergency rooms send daily electronic reports of the sicknesses they have treated in the previous 24 hours, so health officials can monitor for surges.
For most people, drinking water contaminated with giardia or cryptosporidium, the most common pathogens found in pond water, would cause diarrhea, stomach pain, and fever that would be indistinguishable from other types of intestinal illness, DeMaria said.
I don't think it is that big a mystery.
The state and city do not test the water for pathogens themselves, but rely on testing from outside agencies such as the Boston Water and Sewer Commission and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
Barry and DeMaria said that while the water flowing into people’s homes yesterday was being treated with sterilizing chemicals, contamination could remain in the pipes from the brief period on Saturday when some of the water from the backup supply was not yet being treated....
--more--"It's even safe for surgery:
"MGH staff calmly adjusts routines" by Patricia Wen, Globe Staff | May 3, 2010
As the water emergency enters its third day, few places were as susceptible to potential trouble as hospitals, where sanitation is always an urgent priority. And few have as massive a challenge as Mass. General, the city’s largest hospital.
The mood at the hospital yesterday was one of calm adaptation, not chaotic alarm. The business of the hospital went on, but in some cases more slowly, as staff and patients struggled....
Still, (pfft) surgeries went ahead as scheduled....
Then I can stop reading this article.
What you wash your hands with, doc?
--more--"
Okay, how about the rest of you?
"Stores try to obtain, maintain supply; Coakley to investigate reports of price gouging" by Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | May 3, 2010
Bottled water manufacturers stepped up production yesterday as they rushed to supply Greater Boston following a major break in a pipe that pumps drinkable water to the area. But deliveries were hampered by a shortage of drivers, who typically do not work on Sundays....
There were sporadic reports of price gouging yesterday, and Attorney General Martha Coakley said her office plans to investigate....
I hope she does a better job of that than running a campaign.
Thirty Massachusetts communities and more than 2 million residents are under notice from the state to boil water for at least a minute before drinking it or cooking with it. As a result, many are trying to buy as much bottled water as possible, some venturing into neighboring towns to do so.
On Saturday, police were called to a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Revere after shoppers started pushing and shoving in their rush to buy water....
A GLIMPSE of YOUR FUTURE, AmeriKa!!!!
The shelves were also bare at a Stop & Shop in Dorchester by 10:45 a.m. yesterday, with boxes of Evian empty, even though the store had received two emergency shipments that morning. Just up the street, a Shaw’s supermarket had stacked cases of water near the door, and workers were limiting customers to no more than four cases....
Related: Shaw's Supermarket Strike
Strike is all but forgotten now, isn't it?
Legal Sea Foods’s chief executive, Roger Berkowitz, pulled together a management team to coordinate with the restaurant chain’s in-house health department to implement safe food-handling procedures during the crisis....
Coca-Cola opened its bottling plant in Needham early so that Legal Sea Foods could get safe water, Berkowitz said, and ice vendors have been providing uncontaminated supplies for drinks or to keep seafood cold....
Looks like that tax loot will come in handy, 'eh, Coke?
--more--"
Time for a cup of you-know-what:
"Region’s coffee sales grind to just a trickle" by Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent | May 3, 2010
The massive pipe leak that cut off clean water to two million Eastern Massachusetts residents also sharply curtailed the availability of another critical beverage: coffee.
Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the largest coffee retailers in the country, stopped serving coffee in areas affected by the water break yesterday. Customers were greeted by signs on the entrances that said: “We are not offering hot or cold coffee products until further notice.’’
And many independent retailers also cut off the flow of joe, leaving groggy brunchers yesterday searching for other sources of caffeine....
The coffee conundrum has become a challenge for many retailers and businesses. Roger Berkowitz, chief executive of Legal Sea Foods, said making coffee in bulk has been “the most challenging’’ issue for the chain’s restaurants, because not all prepare the drink at boiling temperatures....
What is that they say. three times a charm?
--more--"
Also related: Sudden break shows urgency of backup water system
Most area schools plan to open, operate as usualLet's start there then:
"Emphasis on safety in all grades" by Sarah Schweitzer and David Abel, Globe Staff | May 4, 2010
Tens of thousands of Boston-area students, from kindergarteners to college seniors, returned to class yesterday to find water fountains covered, cafeteria menus limited, and warning signs everywhere.
As classes resumed across the region on the first school day in the three-day water crisis, schools reported no major hitches, ample drinking water supplies, and few panicked inquiries from parents.
Elementary school students got a real-life crash course in water-supply systems and the perils of dirty water. Administrators left little to chance, working a 12-hour day overseeing deliveries of water by the National Guard and the preparation of lunches made without the use of water. (Think chicken fingers, the variety that go directly from freezer to oven tray.)
You know, the kind of stuff that makes you obese.
Some college students sipped water sparingly, lest they bust their meager budgets on bottled water.
On campuses big and small, the everyday tasks of hydration and hand-washing were the stuff of warnings and strictures, with many students taking the water limitations with an equal measure of seriousness and aplomb....
For many young students, the water crisis had a familiar tone, reminiscent of the H1N1 outbreaks that brought hand-sanitizing liquid into their daily routine.
Always the god-damned agenda.
No wonder I can't make it through ten pages of the paper anymore.
Behind the scenes, school officials labored to ensure student safety....
--more--"
WESTON — State officials said yesterday that workers have successfully repaired a massive ruptured water pipe and are on the brink of restoring clean tap water to 2 million Greater Boston residents who, since Saturday, have been ordered to boil water for drinking or cooking....
The order could be lifted as soon as today or tomorrow....
In Washington yesterday, President Obama signed a disaster declaration, clearing the way for federal reimbursement of up to 75 percent of the cost of responding to the crisis.
This guy passes out tax dough like a drunken sailor!
The state has not yet tallied how much it has spent on such costs as alerting residents, repairing the damage, and buying truckloads of bottled water that were still being distributed last night to the elderly and other vulnerable populations.
Attention, meanwhile, turned to what caused a seam connecting two large pipes in the major drinking water artery into Boston to sever on Saturday morning....
If they say earthquake again.... !!
There are multiple theories for what might have caused the pipe rupture. Charles Button, chief engineer of the MWRA, said one theory is that the bolts on the collar exterior could have rusted off, but that would be unexpected because the collar was installed just seven years ago and the region’s soil is not particularly corrosive.
An alternative theory is that heavy rains in recent months eroded the soil underneath the pipe, leading the collar to break. But Button said there was no evidence of such erosion.
The search for a cause has been complicated because workers have not yet found the steel collar, which washed away when water began gushing out of the pipe.
Button and other engineers suspect it is nearby, buried in the Charles River under hundreds of cubic yards of sediment that now rises above the river surface near the rupture site. Officials hope to start excavating the sediment mound today.
Related: Earth Day: Finding God on the Banks of the Charles River
I'm finding him at work in our world more and more every day.
It is also possible that there was a problem with the design, construction, or installation of the pipe collar, which is a large version of a standard component of public water systems....
But you wouldn't want to go that route because it might cost a corporation $ome money.
Environmentalists said the rupture highlights the need for greater attention to water infrastructure.
I'm sick of those pukes piling on and taking advantage of every opportunity.
Reminds me of Bush.
There is an estimated $8.5 billion needed to ensure clean drinking water in Massachusetts, advocates said.
And there your increased tax loot is going to Hollywood, biotechs, greentechs, bank interest, public servant pensions and health plans, Boston.
A new state commission, the Water Infrastructure Finance Commission, is hoping to find a way to fix crumbling pipes, older water-filtration plants, and antiquated monitoring equipment. The panel is scheduled to hold its first meeting tomorrow.
Ummm, horse already out the chute.
“People turn on the tap, and they don’t think about where their water comes from and the cost that goes into maintaining clean water,’’ said the commission’s chairman, Senator James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat. “If anything comes out of what happened this weekend, I hope that people are thinking about that more.’’
That's why I do not drink tap water: because I do consider the source.
Related: Don't Go In the Water in AmeriKa
Another reason not to drink it!
And look who is hoisting an agenda-pushing glass!!
"Join them in a toast to tap water" by Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff | May 4, 2010
Happy Drinking Water Week!
In case you have been too busy fighting your neighbors for the last Poland Spring 24-pack to notice, May 2-10 is Drinking Water Week, a celebration of clean tap water sponsored by the American Water Works Association.
OOOOPS!!
This year’s theme: “Only Tap Water Delivers.’’
That's what those flakes are floating in the glass.
“Certainly a major water main break or transmission line break is not how you would choose to celebrate Drinking Water Week,’’ acknowledged American Water Works Association spokesman Greg Kail.
Again, a higher power at work.
“But it does illustrate the importance of the availability of safe drinking water in any community,’’ he said, “and that’s one of the main goals of Drinking Water Week.’’
That it does.
Festivities marking the occasion are planned across the nation....
Not here.
Does Boston have events planned?
“I am not aware of any,’’ said Dot Joyce, press secretary to Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Not now.
Not sure how to celebrate? The association, an international association of water professionals, has a suggestion: “Give away branded water bottles filled with tap water.’’
Yeah, DECEIVE YOUR FELLOW CITIZEN over agenda-pushing lies and let them get ill.
PFFFFFFFFFTTT!
--more--"
And you KNOW what it always comes down to in the paper, right?
"In Patrick’s response, risk and opportunity" by Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | May 4, 2010
In any campaign for reelection, there are certain events a governor can foresee. A catastrophic rupture in a pipe carrying potable water to 2 million constituents is not one of them.
Governor Deval Patrick has been highly visible since the failure of a massive water pipe in Weston Saturday morning. Yesterday, just hours before he was scheduled to leave, his office announced that the governor had canceled his trip to the Biotechnology Industry Organization convention in Chicago.
Good!
Instead, he will remain in the state until drinkable water is restored in 30 communities served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, his office said.
The governor did not create the crisis, nor was he even in office when the tunnel project was completed. But he owns the problem now, for better or worse....
In any case, we are worse.
The situation poses risks for Patrick if he and his administration fumble the response or if the problem drags on for days. It also offers an opportunity, however, providing a wealth of so-called earned media coverage that candidates covet.
Yesterday, in at least his fourth press conference in three days, Patrick sought to be both a voice of perspective and reassurance....
Not making me feel any better.
Bay Staters expect their governors to take charge in times of crisis, so the benefit of stepping up can be fleeting, one longtime observer said....
Disasters, natural and man-made, can occur at any time, of course, and it is difficult to predict what the public response and political fallout, if any, will be....
Can you predict what I'm going to type, Globe?
--more--"
Bottom line, folks:
"Disruption a short-term affair; Businesses likely to rebound from water emergency" by Robert Gavin and Erin Ailworth and Gal Tziperman Lotan, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent | May 4, 2010
The disruption to the region’s water system has forced some 2 million people to boil water and tested the ingenuity of local businesses, but it is unlikely to have a noticeable economic impact, as long as the problem is fixed soon.
Who is paying your increased electric bill?
With state officials expecting to restore the drinking-water supply within the next 48 hours, analysts said, the economic effects will be similar to that of a snowstorm: short-lived. Consumers will shift spending patterns, buying more water, for example, while cutting back on other goods, while most businesses will find ways to keep operating, analysts said....
Among the hardest hit are food processors. Kayem Foods Inc., which makes Fenway Franks, has halted production at its Chelsea plant, idling more than 300 workers.
Eat before you go to the game, folks.
The company plans to resume some production today after bringing in water tankers. Boston Beer Co., the maker of Sam Adams beer, has stopped production at its Boston brewery, but most of its beer is brewed outside Boston.
Some other businesses, such as water bottlers, are booming....
I'm tired of the perfume on a turd journalism, Glob.
Having to buy ice has cut into Brookline Ice and Coal’s profit margin, but the surge in volume, as hotels and restaurants have shut down in-house ice makers, has more than made up for the expense, said Alice Signore, Brookline Ice and Coal’s treasurer. “I think we’ll be very happy,’’ she said.
Then it is an actual INCREASE, isn't it?
WTF? Globe acting like Goldman Sachs now?
WTF is with the deception and lies?
To have a lasting economic impact, the disruption to water supplies would have to last weeks, long enough for consumers to change habits, analysts said. For example, if the crisis stretched on, it could hurt tourism if travelers canceled plans rather than take the risk of not having readily available potable water, not to mention coffee.
But in the short term, businesses are quickly finding solutions....
But....
For the most part, it has been business as usual at local companies, with a few adjustments....
Then why all the print and press, Globe?
And stop yo-yoing us on the urgent fears, will ya?
Genzyme Corp., the biotechnology giant in Cambridge, was able to maintain production at its Allston manufacturing plant because of the elaborate water filtration process it has in place. But the company transported coffee to the plant from its headquarters in Cambridge, which has a different water supply and was not affected by the water breach....
Also see: Executive Payday: Genzyme Gut Check
Yeah, they are feeling pain.Must be the s*** water.
--more--"
Also related: Water emergency plan works, building confidence for future
Communities varied in offering bottled relief
For some locations, Plan B is working
Ayer bottling plant kicks into high gear to meet need
I'm full up, readers.
