$1 Million Water Main Project in Mid-Stream

A major part of a $1 million water main improvement project was completed Thursday after more than two months of work on Salem Street.

The 12-inch, cast-iron water line that runs the length of the street and carries water to households in that part of town was cleaned and relined.

Next, after the Fourth of July holiday, the project moves to Humphrey Street, said Victoria Masone, the town’s assistant engineer.

The 10-inch, cast-iron water main will be scoured and relined with concrete from the intersection of Salem Street and Humphrey Street to the Marblehead town line, 

The project is less disruptive and less expensive than digging up the roads and replacing the 100-year-old water main.

Instead, an above-ground, by-pass water line serves households in the area while crews rehab the empty water main, Masone said.

A scouring device placed inside the pipe scours iron and other mineral deposits that build up on the inside of the pipe.

After it is cleaned, a machine that sprays concrete over the interior of the pipe moves from one end of the line to the other leaving a quarter-inch concrete lining on the water main's interior.

This surface is less likely to attract mineral build-up in the future, the assistant engineer said.

The cleaned and relined pipe provides for greater water pressure, improving firefighting capabilities, and improves water quality, Masone said. 

The second leg of the project, along Humphrey Street, is scheduled for completion by early July.

The by-pass water line that was erected on the side of Salem Street will be moved to the side of Humphrey Street to provide water to those households during the water line improvement work, she said.

Travelers on that section of Humphrey Street should expect periodic delays.

“Please be patient and bear with us,” Masone said

Police officers will direct traffic.

A final phase of the project calls for replacing 1,500 feet of water main at Roy Street and Melvin Avenue.

That work is expected to start in mid- to late September and end before the snow flies, the assistant engineer said.

The $1 million dollar project was financed through a 0 percent loan from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

Water users will pay the loan through their water rates over 10 years, Masone said.

When the Humphrey Street work is done, the completion will signal the end of a 10-year water-main cleaning and relining project, Masone said.