Breaking News: North Adams Residents Mostly Safe from Boil Water Order!
Following a series of unfortunate water line breaks, the city of North Adams, Massachusetts, has largely lifted its boil water order. This is great news for most residents, but there are still a few areas that need to take extra precautions. Let's dive into the details.
On Monday morning, a boil water order was put into effect after several water line failures over the weekend. But here's the good news: as of 2:20 p.m., repairs have been completed, and water tests have come back clean. According to the mayor's office, there's no sign of harmful bacteria like total coliform or E. coli.
However, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has maintained the boil water requirement for specific locations directly impacted by the breaks. These include:
- 40 Main Street
- 10 to 36 American Legion Drive
- 40 American Legion Drive
- 74 to 264 State Road
- 15 to 57 Biltmore Ave
These addresses experienced direct impacts from the water line breaks on American Legion Drive and State Road. Residents in these areas must continue to boil their water or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, preparing food, brushing their teeth, and washing dishes.
The Water Department explained, "Since the initial public notification, we have made repairs and utilized an interconnect between our High and Low Service Areas, increasing pressures throughout the system. Bacteria samples were collected on December 15, 2025, at areas affected by low pressure." They're working to restore water to the remaining affected areas and will notify residents when it's safe to stop boiling or using bottled water.
So, what caused all this trouble? The first break happened in a hard-to-reach line behind the water treatment plant on Pattison Road. The resulting drop in water pressure, combined with the cold weather, led to other breaks, including one in front of the fire station and another near Carr Hardware on State Road. These breaks led to outages and low water pressure across various parts of the city.
On Monday, all residents were advised to boil water or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, food preparation, washing dishes, and brushing teeth.
For more information, contact the Water Department at 413-662-3157.
What do you think? Were you affected by the boil water order? Do you have any questions or concerns about the water line breaks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
