A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 19-08, regarding the Craigie Street Water Main break

Executive Department LOUIS A. DePASQUALE LISA C. PETERSON City Manager Deputy City Manager January 17,2019 Dear neighbors, I am writing to you to provide an update on the December 23, 2018 water main break on Craigie Street and to share information regarding clean-up and recovery efforts. When 1 visited the area on the morning of December 23rd, I saw firsthand the physical impacts to the neighborhood and know that this has been a frustrating event for everyone. Timelme of Water Main Break: The City was notified of the water main break in the early hours of December 23rd. Water Department crews were dispatched to investigate the situation and determined that the water main break was on the 24" main on Craigie St. While the water main is over 100-years old, it was cement lined in 1954 and had no prior history of leaks. Our most recent annual Citywide leak detection was completed in December of 2018, which induded Craigie Street. The report by the outside vendor that completed the work contained the following quote "I found the system to be in excellent condition wfth only 5 leaks located throughout^ Crews were able to identify and close isolation valves and get a complete shutdown of the main by 5:30 am. Crews continued working during the day of December 23rd to restore the pipe and had the main back in service a littte after 7:00 pm. In addition to the disruption of water service, Mercer Circle ivas flooded, Clean up and Recovery: During the flooding on Mercer Circle, Eversource shutdown electric and gas service to a number of properties to ensure safety and DPW opened manhole covers and catch basins to allow the water to recede as quickly as possible. After the event, DPW provided additional street sweeping, and trash pickup to residents to facilitate the cleanup process. Also, Commissioner O'Riordan visited Mercer Circle on Christmas Eve at approximately 11 am the day after the flood. He knocked on doors of houses identified as impacted and spoke with those residents that were around at that time asking them if they had any immediate needs from a DPW perspective. DPW Commissioner O'Riordan has been answering neighborhood questions regarding the incident and recovery efforts. He has been in touch with a number of impacted residents, but we are not aware of every property impacted. If the water main break affected your property City Half • 795 Massachusetts Avenue" Cambridge • Massachusetts •02139 [phone removed] • tty: [phone removed] " www.cambridgema.gov

and the City has not contacted you/ please contact Owen O'Rfordan at [phone removed] or ooriordan@cambridgeina.gov. Claims: We have received questions regarding how to file a claim with the City for loss and damage to impacted properties. A daim letter can be filed with the City Clerk at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. We will review each claim on Its merits, but it is important to know that because a City water main break occurred does not automatically mean that the City is legally liable for all damage caused by water leaking from the break. In terms of process, the claim letter should include the daimant's name and address/ phone number, a description of She incident causing the damages alleged/ the amount of damages claimed, and any other documentation that the claimant would like the City to consider, including photos or videos if available and repair estimates or receipts. After receiving a claim, the Law Department wi!! investigate all the relevant circumstances to determine the cause of damages alleged, after obtaining relevant information about the incident from other City departments and possibly from private parties. The Law Department will then determine whether the City is legally responsible for the damages. The investigation may take up to a few months depending on how much investigative work is required. Until the investigation is completed, the City will not be in a position to determine whether it is legally appropriate for us to pay out on submitted claims. If you have specific questions or need additional trash pickup, please contact Owen CVRiordan, Commissioner, DPW/ [phone removed] / ooriQrdan@cambridgema.gov. The City will continue to provide additional trash pickups and support the neighborhood with recovery efforts. Sincerely, LouisADePasquale