Water Service to Be Restored This Afternoon After Main Break

While there is no firm estimated completion time, Aquarion officials expect water service will be restored to all the residents affected by in the area of North and Birch roads in North Hampton.

Carl McMorran, the Aquarion operations manager, said Monday afternoon that crews are still working to fix the problem on the 12-inch main running along the roadway. McMorran said it "wasn't a main break per say," but rather a "leak on the top of the valve" that knocked out water service to at least six customers on North and Birch roads.

McMorran said the valve will likely need to be replaced, and said the most time-consuming piece of the replacement will likely be the excavation.

"So much depends on the nature of the excavation," said McMorran. "It’s a typical break. We've seen much, much worse ones in terms lost water volume."

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McMorran said data about the total gallons lost during the leak, which happened shortly before 9 a.m., was unavailable Monday afternoon.

Only Birch and North Road residents were affected by the break, and the roads are currently open to traffic. McMorran said the service shutdown is "right at" the Birch and North Road intersection, and he said the mains in that area are "looped from the other end, which helps minimize the area of the shutdown."