Don’t go chasing waterfalls?

They seem to have a problem in Boston. A small problem. Or, rather, almost 2 million small problems, which unfortunately all occur in the same place.

Almost three years after state managers vowed to close thousands of leaks in the Big Dig tunnels, nearly 2 million gallons of water flow each month through the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Tunnel, an 18 percent increase over last year, a Globe analysis shows.

So it seems to be getting worse. Just something to keep in mind next time you consider driving under Boston. On the other hand, authorities report positive progress in reducing the number of leaks:

The turnpike spends almost $5 million a year for construction crews to plug leaks in the tunnel roof and walls by injecting a grout sealant into fissures in the concrete, Carlisle said. He said the number of leaks is down to about 800 in the O’Neill, compared with more than 3,500 acknowledged by turnpike managers in 2004.

Not sure I think a 75-80% reduction in number of leaks is so good if the volume leaked is increasing month by month. But hey – I’m in Memphis, not Boston. Good luck with that, folks.

[tags]Boston leakage, Holes down but quantities up, The big dig suffering big leakage[/tags]