Massive Water Main Break, Water Emergency Brockton, Mass.

Major water main that carries water from Silver Lake to Brockton ruptures in E. Bridgewater

A water emergency has been declared in Brockton, Massachusetts, after a major water main break.

A water main that carries water from Silver Lake to the city of Brockton ruptured Wednesday morning in the town of East Bridgewater at 1689 Central St.

The break has disrupted the water supply to the communities of Brockton and Whitman. 

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has issued a boiled water order for both of those communities. 

Residents have been asked to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, food preparation, mixing baby formula, making ice, washing food, manual utensil and equipment washing, rinsing and sanitizing, brushing teeth, or any other activity involving the consumption of water. Residents should bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least one minute in order to make the water safe for use.

Water distribution sites in Brockton will be set up at the following locations from 4-7 p.m.

These sites are also available to Whitman residents. There is a limit of one case of water per family of 1-3 people, and two cases of water for families of 3 or more people.

The locations are as follows: 

North Middle School, 108 Oak St. 

West Middle School, 271 West St. 

East Middle School, 464 Centre St. 

South Middle School, 105 Keith Ave. Ext. 

MEMA staff will be on location at each of the delivery sites. 

Good Samaritan Hospital, as well as dialysis centers, report no issues at this time. The Men's Addiction Treatment Center has stopped Section 35 admissions. 

High school students in Brockton were released at 11 a.m. in Brockton. Pre-K through 8th graders remained in school for a full day.

Many businesses and homeowners in Brockton and East Bridgewater are watching the taps closely.

"Going to brush our teeth this morning, it was brown," Brockton mom Rachel Law said.

Law had to stop doing laundry mid-load and bought bottled water for her kids to drink.

"Once you see brown water, you obviously - common sense you don't drink it," she said, laughing.

Over at Alexander's Restaurant, the water filter was working overtime just to give diners their morning cup of coffee.

"We have to boil the water and we let it settle down and we use a filter for the coffee, but the filters, they fill up, of course," owner George Mouratitis said.

Brockton High School closed at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, and Massasoit Community College's Brockton campus shut down for the day; meanwhile, MEMA had to bring a tanker truck of water to Brockton Hospital to keep it open.

"We're feeling cautiously optimistic about getting the system back up and re-pressurized over the next few hours, but there will be a couple of rounds of testing by our own water control people to just absolutely ensure the quality of the water before we take the boil water order off," Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter said.

The boil water order will be in effect until at least late Thursday morning.

At Soul Blue, a soul food restaurant on Main Street close to the West Bridgewater line, owner Beatrice Blue had a full steaming spread of chicken, collard greens, sweet potatoes, okra, black-eyed peas, and other classic Southern dishes ready for the lunchtime crowd. But she was also waiting for a possible order to shut down.

"We are prepared to do whatever the city says," Blue said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. Her restaurant is close to the West Bridgewater line, on the other side of the city from where the water main supplying Brockton with water from Silver Lake erupted. Closer to East Bridgewater, numerous businesses were closed, including McDonald's and Dunkin’ Donuts outlets.

"I got a phone call from the city saying once we run out of hot water we have to close," said Blue, who opened the restaurant with her husband and children 10 months ago. “What we are doing is hoping that we don't run out of hot water soon, but as soon as that hot water's gone, we are out of here, because safety is first."

Elsewhere in the city, Brockton Touchless Car Wash was still doing a brisk business -- thanks to its owners’ smart decision over a decade ago to install their own well to supply their car-wash bays. They recapture, treat, and recycle water customers use to clean cars, so they were unaffected by the city water supply mess.

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