Quick fix by town employees credited for avoiding 'catastrophic' water loss in Ashland

ASHLAND — A broken gate valve on Depot Street has been repaired, but not before losing about 300,000 gallons of water in only 20 minutes.

Town Manager Ronald Beard said with the town’s water tank holding a million gallons, a fast response time Thursday was vital, and he commended the staff for their quick work.

“If the response time was 45 minutes, it could be catastrophic,” Beard said.

Beard said crews responded to a 6-inch gate valve that broke at about 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. The valve is the shutoff for a nearby hydrant, and is about 30 years old. He said when it was installed, stainless bolts weren’t used, and over the years, salt corroded the bolts, and they “finally gave up.”

“It started to blow the top off the valve,” Beard said.

At about 5:30 p.m., Ashland Police were diverting traffic as crews arrived to fix the break. A large hole on the side of the road gave way to water flowing strong. A river of water was pouring down a nearby driveway. Beard said there was silt deposited in the backyard of a residence, which the town would address, but the home was not damaged.

Water entered an unattached garage, but Beard said on Friday it had already dried out.

Crews with the town water and public works departments responded immediately, and Beard was also at the scene. Fortunately, only three residents were affected, unlike the week prior, when the entire town was without water when crews repaired a leaky gate valve on Winona Road.

On Winona Road, crews found there was a valve below the leaking valve, part of the main line going to the tank. The tank had to be completely shut off to replace the valve.

Water was restored on Depot around 2 a.m. on Oct. 30. Several hours later, the water department proceeded with finishing the repairs. This involved replacing the gate valve, which left the hydrant out of service, because the water line is in the middle of the road. The sewer line, Beard said, is on the edge of the road.

On Friday afternoon, Beard said the back fill of the road was in process, and it was open to traffic.

The flow of water was impressive, as the sound of it rushing could be heard about a quarter mile down the street. He said the water line gives off 100 pounds of pressure per square inch.

Beard said thanks to Water and Sewer Superintendent Andrew Benton arriving quickly and shutting off the water to isolate the situation, the problem was taken care of fairly painlessly. He noted the tank holds 1 million gallons of water, so the loss was substantial. With water flowing at upward of 15,000 gallons per minute, Beard said the quick action was critical.

Beard is grateful for the skilled employees on his staff, saying they used their expertise and equipment properly to handle the issue quickly and efficiently.

“Great teamwork from all our departments,” Beard said.

The town reached out to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation immediately, who sent an employee to “give his blessing” to fix the issue, and work out the details later. He said the town will need to repave the section of affected road before the winter, which will be done within the NH DOT requirements.

There will be no issues with the town's water supply, according to Public Works Director Craig Moore.

"The town's wells replenish that million gallon tank from the aquifer down off Cedar Lane, which is one of the largest in the state," Moore wrote in an email on Monday. "It's fed by the Pemigewasset River. So no issues on replenishment."

Underground infrastructure can be a fickle beast, and extremely expensive for repairs and upgrades. Beard said the town received grant funds for the Winona Road water main project, and is looking into a grant for Thompson Street next year.

In a time where budgets are stretched thin, Beard said the town is “aggressively searching” for grants to upgrade the infrastructure, “for the betterment of the community.”

“There is a lot of work in progress.”