Left In Lowell

Water Plant Still At Risk

25 Responses to “Water Plant Still At Risk”

1. K-R-S Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:14 pm

   Thanks Lynne, Yes, I had heard a little while ago that the water is shutting down at 4PM. Fill your bathtubs and containers.
   The Roarke Bridge has been closed for a couple of hours…I would anticpate Varnum or parts thereof will be impassable at some point in time.

2. Lynne Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:27 pm

   It seems like my water pressure is down, maybe because everyone is trying to fill their tubs…so 4pm for sure?

3. K-R-S Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:31 pm

   I had heard 4PM…however, a friend just informed me that she had phoned the CM’s office and they had said there would no water shut off.
   Is the DPD and channel 8 source good?

4. Lynne Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:38 pm

   DPD said maybe, highly likely, the Channel 8 guy was just that - a guy who was going out through the city filming and talking to people.

   If they do shut it down, it’ll be too late for people to fill their containers and tubs though, so do it now! Last I heard, they were pretty damn concerned with the water plant, the river is 5 ft above flood stage already, and it’s supposed to peak between tomorrow and Thursday. NH is still getting rain I hear.

5. Lynne Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:43 pm

   BTW to make it clear, it was the channel 8 guy (whom I spoke to later than George Proakis of the DPD) was the one to say it was going to get shut down. I just got a call from George right now, he is hearing different things all over too and is trying to nail down the right answer for us. I personally say fill the tub and the containers now because waiting for a final answer on the water shutdown might be too late. (What’s the worst that happens, you have a tub of water and your fridge is full of containers of water?)

6. K-R-S Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:44 pm

   I agree Lynne, Better safe that waterless!

7. Lynne Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:48 pm

   Funny comment heard when going back to my car at the Frances Gatehouse where the Channel 8 guy said water was gonna get shut down: “Well, I guess we’ll just have to drink beer! Oh darn!”

8. iminthe middle Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 12:57 pm

   Using NECN Cable TV, the City of Lowell Web site and their links, and LIL with Lynne’s information I am able to keep informed about the Lowell Emergency. My Mother is in Lowell and this info’ is so helpful! Good work Lynne and company. Great photo of the historic Francis Gate. If you have others the Lowell Historical Society would love them for the historic record! The LHS just had a successful program commemorating the Flood of 1936 - who knew 70 years later we’d be back at such near historic flood levels.

9. Lynne Says:
   May 15th, 2006 at 1:01 pm

   Oh, it’s nowhere near the mark for 1936 yet, though we might hit the water mark for 1852, it was maybe 3-4 feet below that mark on the Frances Gatehouse already.

10. JDaniels Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 1:06 pm

    currently the city website says there are no plans to shut the water down.

11. Anonymous Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 1:25 pm

    so if you’ve been told there’s no immediate plans to shut down the water, then why do you still have the alarmist “Water to be SHUT DOWN” headline?

12. Lynne Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 1:32 pm

    Hey anonymous: when you can run a blog at the same time as run around and get work done, field phone calls from clients and others, then you can criticize.

13. Paul@01852 Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 1:41 pm

    WCAP is reporting at 2:34PM that there are NO plans to shut the water plant as of now and will do everything they can to prevent any shutdown. The flood/street closing map on the City website shows that Pawtucket Blvd is open from the Rourke Bridge outbound towards Tyngsboro. I also hear an ambulance planning an alternate route to a case that involved going over the Tyngsboro Bridge so that appears open even tho there were rumors earlier that ir was closed.

14. Jim Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 1:47 pm

    Interesting link on the Rosemont area which is flooded right now: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/water/topic.asp?mytopic=lpp-lowell

15. john mullen Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 3:57 pm

    From
    John in Sth Lowell: Looks like the rain is over :still have H2O as of 4:55
    had no work today@M/A-COM on the Blvd. Anyone know weather I can plan as
    if a friday night?

16. Lynne Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 4:14 pm

    Rain is over (it wasn’t in NH, still raining today) but it’s still trickling down from small streams into the rivers up in the watershed. Expect the water to stick around a while, it can come after the rain stops by hours or even days. It might even rise overnight into tomorrow, or peak as late as Thursday, some were saying.

17. john mullen Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 4:38 pm

    Guess my clock is off,maybe it has H2O problems too. Any way does anyone
    know the status of the Merrimack river along the stretch of RT 113 Rourke
    bridge to Ayottes in Hudson. Might need some beer.

18. -b Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 4:56 pm

    Its looking like we have dodged a bullet with the second round of rain.

    I’m happy to see that the NWS has downgraded their forecast slightly. The latest update says that the river will peak in Lowell around 8PM at 59.3. (We were at 58.4 at 9AM) This is down from their prediction of 62 feet. I am anxiously watching the levels at my sister and laws house on New York Street. The basement is full, and we are precariously close to water entering the first floor… Crossing my fingers that the worst is just about here.

19. K-R-S Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 5:09 pm

    Thanks for that update -b..I hope the damage does not intensify.

20. waittilnextyr Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 5:44 pm

    It looks like the river has about crested:

    http://newweb.erh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=box&gage=lowm3&view=1,1,1,1,1,1

    It is at its 4th highest level that has been recorded, but as bad as it is, nearly 10 ft. below the 1936 flood.

    Let’s hope the last gasp of rain doesn’t start it up again.

21. -b Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 8:05 pm

    Just took a visit to New York Street, just after 8 and the water was going down. Other people checking things out told me that the water had receded about 4 feet (that’s distance, not depth) over a 20 minute period.

    Radar looks promising, but there is something off the coast of Delaware headed this way. Lets hope it falls apart like the line that came thru this afternoon.

22. Susan M. Says:
    May 15th, 2006 at 11:31 pm

    I hope everyone is doing okay. Very scary pictures on TV with so much water.

    Hey, uh.. I hate to ask, but anyone know how the Senior Center is doing…?

23. Paul@01852 Says:
    May 16th, 2006 at 4:37 am

    The Senior Center should be fine altho I have not actually been there. Its is about 1/2 mi away from the river with a quite high hill between.

    As an update to the rest of the city — Pawtucket Blvd is still closed as of 5 am but the authoritative word is that the water has begun to recede and that the Blvd may reopen later this morning. The emergency message at work was to “call back later!” So far there has been no damage to my work so it just looks like a vacation day today! I assume since there is no damage there that the Water Plant is also undamaged and that the threat of it being shut down has lessened as well.

24. -b Says:
    May 16th, 2006 at 11:43 am

    I was only able to see a limited amount last night when I went to New York Street, but my sister and law was able to take a canoe to her house there.

    What she saw was complete devistation. The houses at the lower ends of Lafayette and Alma had their first floors almost completely submerged in some cases. She paddled to her house on NY Street from a few blocks over - I think Alma Street. She told me at one point she looked below as she paddled over a car several feet under water. She also paddled right over tall fences and swimming pools.

    Once the water lowers I will be down there helping out as much as I can. I hope that the city or state is able to offer some assistance to the residents in the Rosemont Terrace area who are not as fortunate as we have been. This will be a large setback for our family, but we will be ok. But some of our neighbors have lost everything. They will need all the help that can get.

25. Lynne Says:
    May 16th, 2006 at 1:14 pm

    -b, thanks for the update. I’m sorry your sister had her house flooded.

    This is a good time for the community to come together and help. Anyone who finds a need for volunteers is welcome to post that info here.

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