How water gets to Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Water from a massive water main break Wednesday caused quite a mess in downtown Springfield. The water main break flooded streets and left a 15 foot deep hole that is now 40 feet wide.

The pipe that burst was just a small part of a very extensive network of pipes that carries water to the entire city.

"We have about 617 miles of underground piping in the underwater distribution and transmission systems," said Kathy Pedersen, spokesperson for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.

The water supply for Springfield is gravity fed and originates 20 miles away at the Cobble Mountain Reservoir in Blandford. The reservoir was constructed in the early 1930s and holds over 20 billion gallons of water.

From there the water travels to the West Parish Filters Facility in Westfield where the water is treated and filtered through sand.

From there it travels through three huge transmission lines to the Provin Mountain Storage Tanks in Feeding Hills. The tanks are capable of holding 60 million gallons of water.

It is then brought into the city of Springfield underneath the Connecticut River.

The water runs through pipes ranging in size from as big as 60 inches to as small as 6 inches as the water is carried into residential areas.

"About 58 percent of the piping network is 50 years or less and about 24 percent of the pipes are 100 years or more," said Kathy Pedersen, spokesperson for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.

The pipe that broke on the corner of Carew and Main streets was installed in 1952 and was a 24inch main. Typically the life of a water distribution pipe is between 50 and 75 years.

Right now it is still not known what caused the water main to break but weather and vibrations from car and truck traffic might have been a contributing factor.