Why Marlborough Has Had So Many Water Main Breaks Recently

MARLBOROUGH, MA — You hear the phrase "water main break," and you might think of flooded roadways and emergency repairs — just like what happened along Route 20 in Marlborough in January.

So far in September, Marlborough has had four separate water main breaks, but that's not necessarily higher than usual, according to the Department of Public Works. It's also not a sign that the city's infrastructure is crumbling — in fact, it's a reminder for homeowners to check their pipes.

If you head over to the Marlborough DPW's Facebook page, you'll see a surprising number of posts about water main breaks. The first this month happened along Harvard Street, and shut the whole road down. Then there was one on Sept. 12 along Highgate Road, on Sept. 15 along Highland Street, and then along Concord Road up to the Marlborough Country Club on Sept. 16. At the end of July, a main broke outside 329 Boston Post Road East.

According to interim Public Works Commissioner Theodore Scott, Marlborough sees about 30 water main breaks each year, and they vary in size. In one recent case, a contractor dug into a road and hit the main. In the other cases, it was a break at connection point to a house.

"Often times these house-to-main connections (called corporation stops and saddles) corrode after many years and usually fail without warning," Scott wrote in a recent email.

Marlborough makes routine upgrades to the water system, Scott said, and also tries to detect leaks to prevent more serious breaks. Marlborough has also teamed up with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to replace lead service lines in the city, which can corrode over time.