Broken Valve Floods Commonwealth Avenue

Water flooded the sidewalk in front of the College of Arts and Sciences building yesterday after a valve broke off an underground pipe while workers were replacing a fire hydrant, according to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.

The accident occurred at about 10:20 a.m. directly in front of 705 Commonwealth Ave. as Boston Water and Sewer Commission workers were removing the old fire hydrant. As a result, water to CAS was shut off until about 2:05 p.m.

Jeanne Richardson, the Commission’s director of communications and community services, said the workers had shut off the water in the section of pipe around the hydrant before they replaced the hydrant. She said a valve on one of the gates that hold back the water broke.

Workers closed off the water at a different gate to stop the leak and then repaired the problem. Richardson said the emergency only extended the length of time the water was turned off.

According to Richardson, the valve “walked off” the piping, meaning it was not knocked loose by a worker, but simply broke.

“We do have a very old system in the city of Boston,” she said. “But, the crews were on the street quickly. If we were across town at the time, it would have taken longer.”

As soon as the leak occurred, the Commission workers notified the Boston University Physical Plant, said Jim Keating, the Plant’s associate vice president.

Keating said Plant workers went to the site of the leak to determine what happened and why, as well as to inform those affected by the water shutoff of what had happened. Once the problem was fixed, the water was restored, he said.

Plant workers began checking the water pipes in CAS to make sure there were no further problems, such as debris in the line.

They found no problems, according to Keating, who said workers would continue to monitor the water and piping in CAS throughout the night.