A major water main broke at around 3 a.m. on May 8 in downtown Keene leaving residents with no water or low water pressure. Water and Sewer Superintendent Joseph W. Tonweber told the Keene Sentinel that the collapse “blew a big hole in the street." The crater reached from a sidewalk fence to the middle of the road, he said.

Steve Chase lives in Keene, where he is director of Antioch University’s program in Environmental Advocacy.

“This means some people will need to use bottled water today, which is very expensive and terrible for the environment,” he said. “It may also reduce people’s confidence in the quality of our municipal water, leading some to buy bottled water in the future.”

Prof. Chase noted that while the government spends billions on two wars, the nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. “Maintaining water mains is a great way to create jobs during a recession. Those are jobs that can’t be sent to China.”

Water service was resumed around 5 p.m. on May 8, Keene Public Works director Kürt Blomquist told the Post on May 11.