A reopening plan for downtown Provincetown restaurants was announced Friday evening after two days of forced closures.
Restaurants in the downtown area may be able to open Saturday once word comes from city officials that the vacuum sewer system is stable and functioning properly.
An update is expected early Saturday from the city.
Also Friday night, residents and visiting residents on the downtown vacuum sewer system were allowed to resume normal water use such as showers and toilet flushing, but were asked to refrain from washing dishes and laundry.
A state of emergency was declared Thursday in Provincetown for all properties on the city’s vacuum sewer system after a storm damaged equipment and the system lost pressure. Restaurants ceased operations and residential properties were ordered to reduce water use until the vacuum system was working properly.
A system failure:Checking every sewer connection in Provincetown. Here’s what it takes to solve the problem
The Provincetown Business Guild is still gearing up for the 2022 Carnival
Mid-August is a very busy time for the community, and there are no plans to cancel the 43rd annual Provincetown Carnival. The event is scheduled to run from Saturday to Saturday, August 13 to August 20, with the theme “Monsters, Myths and Legends”.
The week of activities, sponsored by the Provincetown Business Guild, will include pool parties, drag parties, floats, cabaret-style shows, costume parties, gallery walks and many other events.
The carnival — billed as Provincetown’s biggest summer festival — will include the much-anticipated carnival parade on Thursday, August 18. The business department is encouraging the support of local businesses.
Starting Saturday:Carnival Returns to Provincetown: Everything You Need to Know
What you need to know about the Provincetown sewer system
About 1,500 properties are in the city’s sewer system, some on vacuum and some on gravity-based mechanisms. Another 1,500 properties are still using location-specific systems.
The city’s sewer system went into service in 2003 and the vacuum system also failed in 2009 over the Fourth of July weekend when an underground line ruptured.
What we knew on Friday:Relief could come Friday evening for residents, businesses
What is a vacuum drain system?
Along the densely populated and low-density areas along Commercial Street and Bradford Street, particularly in the downtown area, a vacuum sewer system “pulls” sewage from individual properties into an underground collection center.
The central vacuum center is located in the center of the city. It contains the main vacuum pump and marks the point where the lines serving the city center converge and enter a large pipe that sends sewage to the city’s treatment plant. The central vacuum hub also contains instruments that monitor flow and pressure in the lines, as well as switches that can remotely shut off sections of a given area.
What we knew on Thursday:Provincetown restaurants close, residents to limit use: Covering sewer failure
At the treatment plant off Route 6, wastewater is treated with chemicals and processed through ultraviolet disinfection reactors, which kill harmful pathogens, coliforms and other bacteria. The disinfected sewage is then pumped to the effluent disposal beds bordering 6th Street.
Almost 95% of the Trade Route:Provincetown restaurant owners react to sewer failure at the height of the summer season
What do we know about why the sewer system broke?
A power surge from a storm Tuesday damaged circuit breakers that shut off power to parts of the vacuum system and resulted in the entire system being flooded, according to Public Works Director Jim Vincent.
