Montpelier back in business after water main breaks

Montpelier is back in business after a broken main flooded its downtown and caused a frozen mess.

City Manager Bill Fraser says myriad factors have contributed to two major water main breaks in the last weeks, including aging pipes and temperature swings. Fraser says a break on Elm Street last week may have contributed to the weekend problem. Breaks can cause reverberations through the system called hammering that causes additional smaller breaks.

"We have some old water lines, so clearly that's a concern. We've also been pretty aggressive in the last few years in funding improvements. But the biggest concern right now is the freeze-thaw cycle we're going through," Fraser said.

Fraser says the city will have high overtime costs but does budget for emergency situations.

The boil water order was lifted Monday for most areas of the city.