A burst water line at Sappi Fine Paper snarled traffic on Cumberland Street for about an hour this afternoon, starting around 3:30 p.m. Police and firefighters had to close off Cumberland from the Main Street roundabout up to the Bridge Street intersection while workers from the Portland Water District came to turn the water off.

While workers waited, water gushed from the pump building down Cumberland and Brown streets, carrying stones, bits of pavement, and other debris. The water flowed down as far as the Cumberland Mills Bridge before disgorging into the Presumpscot River.

Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Jones said no one was hurt, and the break did not damage the road’s integrity, so once the water was shut off, traffic was allowed to pass starting at 4:20 p.m. Jones said public services crews would be spreading sand just in case.

A worker from the Portland Water District works to shut off a water valve to control a flood caused by a burst water line at Sappi Fine Paper on Cumberland Street. Behind him, on the left, is a corrugated steel shed housing the pump. Water escaping from a burst line buckled the side of the shed. (Staff photo by Sean Murphy)
Water from a burst water line in a pump shed at Sappi Fine Paper flowed down Cumberland Street as far as the Cumberland Mills Bridge before dumping into the Presumpscot River. (Staff Photo by Sean Murphy)W