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West Roxbury water tower sprang a leak, but nothing to worry about, MWRA says

Water pouring out of Bellevue Hill water tower

Soggy door on Bellevue Hill. Photo by Keith Davison.

Water began pouring out of the older of two water tanks atop Bellevue Hill in West Roxbury on Sunday, but the MWRA says it was a minor mishap, not something more serious. A spokesperson says:

During routine filling of the tank, it overflowed a bit. The water was contained to the site and there were no operational impacts. Some electrical equipment got wet and was repaired.

The two tanks atop the hill, the highest natural point in Boston, provide water service and pressure to Roslindale, West Roxbury and several towns south of Boston.

The older, 114-foot-tall structure was constructed in 1914 and 1915 by the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board. It consists of a steel tank surrounded by a circular masonry wall.

Masonry wall being constructed around the tank in 1915 (source):

Tank under construction in 1915.
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Comments

Imagine if you were working inside that building and the water started rising.

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I'm building an ark, just in case.

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I'm supposed to trust some hill top elitist?

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I'm only a three-quarters of the way up the hill elitist.

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This video has a great explanation of why they exist and the several jobs they do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZwfcMSDBHs I had vaguely thought it was for "maintaining pressure or something, maybe resilience?", but there's some really interesting nuance to that.

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Thnks @Tim Mc. that was very enlightening.

If that was a minor issue I'd hate to see what the MWRA considers a major issue.

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Google “aquapocalypse Boston” if you want to know the answer to that

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That looks like a pretty major leak to me! Hope they get the damned thing fixed before it gets even worse and presents a real danger to whoever is working down there!

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It was an overflow.

Performed as designed. No water off the property. Minor repairs made.

Same principle, but less damage than when your upstairs neighbor forgets the tub is running.

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