A break in a water main along Route 101 in Peterborough Wednesday sent a stream down toward Church Street on the north side of the road, likely impacting water quality and pressure from late morning. 

Pete Bergeron of the town Department of Public Works said that the call came in at 11:15 a.m. from New Ipswich Fire Chief Ben Hatcher, who observed water flowing down Route 101 just south of the Route 123/Old Street Road intersection.  

Bergeron and Anthony Carland responded by working to shut off water to the broken pipe at a gate valve on Old Street Road.

“The valve is six or seven feet down, and there’s a lot of dirt on the way to it, and everything’s frozen,” said Carland as they dug toward the valve at midday. 

“Between Old Street Road and Church Street, there could be some dirty water and reduced pressure until it’s repaired,” said Carland, adding that once they shut the water off at the value, they would start digging to begin repairs. 

Asked about the cause, Bergeron suggested it was the age of the pipe rather than the cold weather.

“These are perhaps the oldest pipes in town, maybe dating to 1910 or so, and made of cast iron, whereas today’s pipes are better,” said Bergeron.

“The biggest problem is that the problem is out of sight right now,” he added, saying that the department had last had to access the valve they were digging toward three years ago.