Brown water gushed from a broken 12-inch main pipe, flooding into Columbus Avenue and several Jamaica Plain businesses.
Over a month has passed since the 130-year-old pipe burst; officials say it’s still unclear what caused the breakage. Crews had trouble finding the broken valve, causing the flooding to continue till the next day.
Water flooded parts of 225 Centre St., where Hodan Nursery and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America operate.
Officials at Hodan Nursery could not be reached for comment.
Bruce Marks, CEO of NACA, said he felt the city did not provide JP businesses with enough direct updates about fixing the burst.
“You would have thought that someone from the city would have reached out to us,” Marks said. “There was no keeping us informed about what was going on.”
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission alerted residents after 3: 40 p.m. on X to stay away from the area as crews worked to bring the flooding under control and provided further updates on the pipe.
Marks – whose business sits on the second floor on top of the nursery – was in his office when he saw water rushing into the streets.
“At first I thought, ‘boy, that’s a lot of rain,’ but then it wasn’t raining,” Marks said.
Around 1 p.m. water flooded NACA, Marks said the commission came around 6 p.m. while building management brought fans and dehumidifiers to help reduce the damage. Marks said he left around 10 p.m. with water still rushing into his business.
NACA, a non-profit housing counseling organization, was continued appointments remotely and reopened once the pipes’ valves were fixed.
Marks said crews did an “outstanding job” fixing the pipe but said the city should “get a better handle” on its valve systems for faster repairs.
In a statement to the Jamaica Plain Gazette, Councilor Benjamin J. Weber’s office described its role as a “liaison or advocate” connecting flooded businesses to city departments.
“Emergency response to a water main break is a fundamental government responsibility,” the statement said, “We have to be there for our residents, businesses, and organizations.”
The water commission acknowledges that aging pipes are prone to “corrosion and deterioration,” according to its capital improvement 2024-2026 document.
The Commission’s pipe replacement decisions are driven by a “risk-based assessment” that looks at the likelihood of a pipe failing and if its failure would cut off critical customers, like hospitals, the document states.
The Jamaica Plain Gazette made multiple attempts for comments from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.
“I think one of the takeaways is that the city should know when there is a water main break…that didn’t seem to be the case,” Marks said.
This story is part of a partnership between The Independent Newspaper Group and Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.