Water main bursts on Marlborough Street

Water main bursts on Marlborough Street
A broken water main spewes hundreds of gallons of water into the air at a construction site on Marlborough Street on Sept. 9.

By Adam Brazeau 
CORNWALL, Ontario – A broken water main spewed its contents four stories high against the former Cornwall hospital site tonight as more than two dozen people watched from nearby Parisien Manor.

A new storm sewer being constructed on Marlborough Street from Second Street to Eighth Street created a spectacular scene at approximately 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Cornwall Gravel workers swarmed the area shortly after and were able to close the broken water main at around 9:30 p.m.

“It’s happening because we’re disturbing all the soil,” said one of the construction workers.

He added that it was caused by a weak spot in the main waterline, which he believed to be from the 1920s.

A spectator in the crowd noted that a similar incident happened at the site earlier in the week.

Share this article