PROVINCETOWN – Late Thursday evening, the City of Provincetown reported progress on repairs to the sewer vacuum system and reduced sewage flows allowing the repairs to be made.
“Despite this progress, we cannot connect one part of the system at a time,” the city said in an emailed statement. “The entire vacuum system needs to be reconnected in order to get it back online and back to normal.”
Repair crews planned to work through the night, with an update Friday morning.
Thursday evening, nearly every restaurant along Commercial Street in the downtown area was closed except for Pizza Spiritus, which is on its own independent septic system, according to the owner. Portable toilets were lined up in the parking spaces near the town hall.
What has been repaired so far in the Provincetown sewer system?
- 67% of structures and wells
- 63% of the total length of the system is in operation
- 68% of the total properties are in operation
- 80% of the total flow is reconnected
On Thursday morning, residents and business owners were alerted to a problem with Provincetown’s sewer system.
Restaurants were told to close and hundreds of residents in the system were told to “reduce water use, including washing dishes, laundry, showering and flushing only when absolutely necessary.”
“Nightmare” is the word that came to mind for Guillermo Yingling, co-owner of Spiritus Pizza on Commercial Street.
“Closing on what may have been the busiest day of the year, there’s no way to recoup that revenue,” Yingling said.
The city estimated Thursday morning that it could take up to 48 hours “to make repairs and return the system to normal,” according to the alert.
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Is Provincetown Carnival Cancelled?
“Hopefully it will be resolved by Carnival week,” City Manager Alex Morse said. “We are fixing it as soon as possible. It is not easy, but it is necessary.
The 43rd annual Carnival Week is Saturday through Saturday, August 13 through August 20, with the theme “Monsters, Myths and Legends.” The carnival, billed as Provincetown’s largest summer festival, will include the Carnival Parade on August 18.
“Monsters, Myths and Legends”:Carnival Returns to Provincetown: Everything You Need to Know
Where is Provincetown’s sewer broken?
The order affects 356 properties, out of about 1,500 that are connected to the city’s sewer system.
The emergency includes properties on Commercial Street from Snow Street to Point Street and properties on Bradford Street between Conwell Street and Prince Street.
About half of the properties in Provincetown are connected to the public sewer system, while others have on-site systems.
Closing in August:Provincetown restaurant owners react to sewer failure at the height of the summer season
Map of Provincetown’s affected area
Where are the public bathrooms in Provincetown?
All public restrooms are expected to remain closed Friday, according to the city.
The city ordered 18 portable toilets. They settled on Ryder Street near the town hall.
What we know about the cause of the failure
The problem began Aug. 9 after a power surge from a storm damaged some circuit breakers, according to Jim Vincent, the city’s director of public works. A few hours later the vacuum system was not working and there was no pressure in the system. The system was effectively choked, he said.
Sewer failure coverage from Thursday:Provincetown restaurants close, residents should limit use:
The valve boxes are being repaired, but more equipment is needed and it is expected to take days to get all the necessary equipment, according to comments at the Board of Selectmen and Board of Health meeting.
Pump trucks were going around town to empty the sites, disinfecting them and bringing that waste to the treatment plant.
