Worcester Thinks Its Prepared for Water Emergency

Though the Metro Boston water main break and resulting state of emergency has not been reported on much in the National Media it would be pretty hard to miss it in Massachusetts. Worcester which was not affected by the MWRA problem seems confident that they would be able to handle a similar emergency. They are supplied by water sources including Holden.

NECN interviewed the Director of Water Operations for Worcester Konstatin Eliadi who seems to imply that the 100 year old pipes in Worcester are actually an advantage. Having been made one and a half inches thick and regularly reinforced and/or replaced the pipes seem to be holding up over time. Though he mentions that Worcester has emergency plans he did not share the specifics.

Whether you agree with him or not now is a good time to think about what you would do in the case of a similar emergency. Back when 9/11 took place emergency preparedness was in the forefront of everyone’s mind. Many people put together all the items they were advised to gather by the Federal Government including water. As much as I would like to say that I was one of them I’m not. Now is the time to stock up on bottled water while you can see the results of what happened in Boston. Not only could you not drink the water you could not wash dishes or brush your teeth unless you used boiled water or bottled water.

Some of you might think having Polar Springs in your own back yard is an advantage and it is but Boston was lucky. The replacement parts to fix the broken main were readily available so that the boil water order only lasted for a little over 2 days. It could have been much worse which means a similar problem might require a week or more of boiling water and buying bottled water.

Here is the video from NECN: