Published July 15, 2010

Remember when everyone east of Weston had to boil tap water during the Great Inconvenience Of 2010 (that is, everyone except Cambridge)? It’s because of a huge pipe coupling that burst, went flying and, well, disappeared in the Charles River.

It’s a wonder than a ton of metal could go missing for so long. But there’s word from the MWRA that the collar has been FOUND:

At about 2:00 this afternoon, the coupling involved in the May 1st water main break was found in the excavation adjacent to the pipe. Press are welcome to come out to the site on Recreation Road in Weston for an availability with Secretary Bowles and Fred Laskey at 3:45 today.

Earlier today, the second “sealing plate” – a small component of the coupling – was also found. The other sealing plate was found a couple of weeks ago.

Now what do they do with it? (Answer from the newsroom: Examine the seams to try to understand how it burst in the first place. It could take days to dig it out — they don’t want to damage the thing.)

Update: Here she is:

This is part of the 1-ton pipe coupling that went missing for more than two months. (Steve Brown/WBUR)