Water Main Repairs Could Mean No Water To This Street In Waltham

WALTHAM, MA — About two dozen homes along Ash Street may have no water Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., according to the city as crews work to relocate the water main.

City officials are warning anyone who lives on Ash Street between Lowell and Newton streets to store enough water for drinking, cooking and flushing toilets before 8 a.m. Tuesday so that they're not caught off guard if the water goes off.

Late last week Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris walked door to door with fliers in English and Spanish letting residents know that it's possible the water may go out Tuesday, and how to flush the pipes once the water comes back on.

But crews won't know until Tuesday morning, for sure.

It's part of a project to replace the water main. There's a manhole near the corner of Ash and Lowell streets and if all goes well, crews will manually adjust the levers there and make adjustments without a major disruption to the water flow.

"[The announcement] was only put out as a cautionary measure," said Harris in a phone interview.

If workers are unable to switch a valve off in the manhole, it will then mean no water for just that section of Ash Street.

Th interruption in service is to allow crews to relocate a portion of water main to allow for the installation of the drainage improvements at the intersection of Ash and Lowell Streets.