Editor,

It started like any other cold, wintry morning. I cam downstairs at 6:40 ready to brew the first pot of coffee. When turning the tap to fill the pot with water — no water. Having recently replaced the faucet with new parts, I thought it was still faulty. Then I tried a bathroom faucet. Again no water. I went to the basement to check the water valves. All seemed OK.

I walked outside to get the morning paper. The bottom quarter of my driveway was filled with large chunks of ice. When my next door neighbor approached me, she said there was a ruptured water line  on our street and that all water had been shut off. Shortly thereafter, a member of the Biddeford Fire Department arrived on the scene. He advised us that the proper authorities had been advised  of the problem.

Throughout the day, there were from three to seven emergency trucks on the street and as many or more workers. Long story short, they spent more than 12 hours lovating the rupture, digging 6 foot deep holes in the street, replacing the break, and refilling the holes. When finished, they cleaned up the area which included the removal of ice from my drivewaywith a backhoe. My snowblower and commerical plows couldn’t do the job. 

What’s so different about a job these workmen have probably done dozens of times? Well, as most of you may remember, the temperature was in the single digits the entire day and the wind chill made the temperature feel well below zero. They were dressed for it, but still, 12 hours.

To top it off, every worker was courteous and kept me and my neighbors advised of what was happening and how much longer the job would take. Hats off to them.

Robert Haggett

Biddeford