TORRINGTON – On Sunday night, a water main near the corner of Ridge Road and Hillcrest Drive broke, according to Tom Troxel, head of the city’s water department. The incident, Troxel said, was likely age related. 

Troxel said he was called late Sunday night by police with concerns about leaking water. 

Julie Walsh said she looked out her window when she saw flashing lights outside. Initially Walsh had thought a fire hydrant might be broken. 

“I looked up the hill and [water] was flowing down,” Walsh said. 

When Troxel arrived on the scene, the issue was very minor, he said. However, soon after, the road was being washed out. 

Pieces of the road dropped into the ditch, Troxel explained, and water, dirt and silt flowed down the hill to the Park Avenue area. 

According to Troxel, the water in that area – for about 35 homes – was turned off from about midnight to noon Monday. He also said the city and a local contractor were able to get a lot of cleanup done that night and the next morning.

“Yeah, it was kind of a mess, but they got it cleaned up really well,” Walsh noted.

A local contractor was hired to clean up the broken pieces of the street. Currently, construction is being done on the broken area of the main. According to Troxel, the hopes are to lay new water lines in that area and fully repair the road. 

Troxel said city engineers Jeff Harkins and Mark Weis are working on a set of plans to be approved. Approval according to Troxel can take 30 to 60 days, but potentially less time since this was classified as an emergency event.