Watch CBS News

Pipe join from May water break is removed for test

Part of the coupling is loaded onto a trailer. (WBZ-AM)

State crews have dug out one half of a massive coupling blamed for a May 1 water main break that forced two million Boston-area residents to boil their drinking water.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority announced earlier this month workers had located the one-ton coupling considered key evidence in the failure of the 10-foot pipeline.

The MWRA said Wednesday a 15-foot piece of the coupling was dug out by hand and removed for laboratory analysis. Officials said the other half, still attached by a single bolt, is buried much deeper and engineers are considering how to recover it.

The rupture in suburban Weston left residents of 30 towns and cities, including Boston, without safe drinking water for three days.

The coupling's maker says other factors also could have caused the break.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.