BROCKTON — Dave Palmquist was asleep when his neighbor called to suggest he take a look outside his East Bridgewater home Wednesday morning.
“It looked like the Atlantic Ocean,” said the 54-year-old Palmquist, who awoke to a massive water main break on the side of his two-story Central Street home. Palmquist rushed outside and moved his family’s cars as water poured onto the street and flooded several residents’ yards, including his own.
He then hurried to his garage, hopped into his black Chevy Silverado pickup truck, drove 5 feet, and found himself deep in a monstrous water-filled sinkhole.
“It really didn’t faze me,” said Palmquist, whose truck was totaled. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long [for the main to break.]”
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The decades-old 24-inch pipe that ruptured in East Bridgewater at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday had a major effect on area residents, affecting 75,000 people in Brockton and shuttering businesses, forcing the cancellation of surgeries at a hospital, and closing schools and other public facilities. Whitman and some neighboring towns also had little or no water.
At West Middle School, one of the centers that was distributing water to residents, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter said Wednesday night that if all goes according to plan, water will be available for all uses except drinking by 7 a.m. Thursday. But he stressed that the timetable could change.
The Brockton Emergency Management Agency said in a statement before 6 a.m. Thursday that water service had been restored across the city. Schools in the city would be open Thursday, according to that statement. Authorities continued to recommend residents bringing water to a boil for a minute before drinking.
On Wednesday night, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority delivered parts to workers repairing the broken pipe, Carpenter said. Asked what may have caused the break, he said simply, “age,” noting that the pipe dates back to the early 1930s.
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Earlier in the day, a state of emergency was declared and state officials ordered a boil-water order for Brockton and the town of Whitman. The order is expected to remain in effect for 24 hours or longer.
The towns of Hanson and Pembroke also experienced water problems, officials said.
The water main, which runs from Silver Lake into Brockton, broke on Central Street near Route 27 in East Bridgewater, officials said.
“I came out and there was a flowing river down the street,” said Cheryl Williams, 49, who lives on Central Street and experienced damage to her yard. “It was pretty crazy.”
East Bridgewater was largely spared, as the water line services only a few residents there.
While many residents in Brockton had no water, Dede Studenski, a dispatcher at the city’s Water and Sewer Division, said some residents “have dirty water and some have low pressure.”
Marvin Carr tried to make coffee Wednesday morning, as he does every day, but decided against it when brown water poured from his faucet.
“It was rusted,” said Carr, 84, who lives at the Manning Towers housing apartments on Goddard Road. “I didn’t know what to think.”
Several blocks away, 60 year-old Regina Duffy was unaware of the water main break.
“I drank the water,” she said. “I said, ‘Why does it taste awful?’ It tasted like lead.”
She had prepared Kool-Aid and had not immediately noticed a change in the water color. “I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen crime, I’ve seen fires,” said Duffy. “But this ... no, this is pretty bad.”
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A water main break in 2008, just three days before Christmas, left residential and business customers along Main Street in Brockton without service for nearly two days.
On Wednesday, people crowded grocery stores to stock up on bottles of water. In addition, many restaurants in Brockton were closed or operating for a limited time.
Jim Hill, manager of Papa Gino’s pizzeria on School Street, said once the shop had used all of its clean dishes and cookware, it would close for the day.
Hill said that his eatery had received a host of calls from customers who wanted to know if the pizza shop was open.
“People are more or less panicky,” he said. “It’s very inconvenient for the public.”
Roughly 15,000 residents were affected in Whitman, said Aaron Richardson, superintendent of the town’s Water and Sewer Department. Most people had very low pressure, though some on High Street reported they had no water at all, he said.
Carpenter said the city tapped its back-up water source at the Aquaria Desalination Plant to provide 3 million gallons of water that largely supported West Brockton by the afternoon.
Brockton uses 10 million gallons of water daily. After repairs are completed, officials will have to test the water for 24 hours but hope to restore water use for bathrooms.
The mayor said Wednesday night that public safety had not been affected by the water problem.
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Due to the emergency, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital canceled about 25 outpatient surgeries, which included operating room and endoscopy procedures, hospital spokeswoman Rachel Labas said.
The cancellations allowed the hospital to save water that would be used to sterilize materials, she said.
Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen @globe.com. Aneri Pattani can be reached at ataneri.pattani@globe.com