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Twin Water-Main Breaks Underscore Aging Infrastructure in Hamm and Göttingen

Göttingen crews expect roughly ten working days of street restoration following replacement of up to seven meters of a century‑old main.

Overview

  • In Göttingen's Ostviertel just before 10 a.m. Friday, a 40‑centimeter Stadtwerke transmission main on Merkelstraße burst, sending a fountain through the asphalt and damaging the roadway.
  • House connections in Göttingen were largely unaffected, with only one nearby property reporting water in a lower garage and cellar that was vacuumed out.
  • Stadtwerke personnel isolated the Göttingen line at two points; roughly six to seven meters of the early‑20th‑century pipe are slated for replacement, with full street repair estimated at about ten working days.
  • In Hamm‑Osten around 7:30 a.m., a 100‑millimeter supply line from 1960 cracked on Marderweg, flooding part of the street and cutting service for about 60 households and nearby shops for several hours.
  • Crews in Hamm removed the damaged section, installed a shut‑off valve to limit future outages, flushed lines, and restored water by roughly 11:30 a.m.; local officials cited freeze–thaw stress, whereas Göttingen experts dismissed temperature as a cause.