By Kate Augusto

A water main burst at the intersection of Huntington Avenue and Parker Street Sunday, leaving at least nine residence halls with little or no water pressure.

Ron Lavoie, facilities director of physical plant operations, said the break affected the entire West Village complex and Willis Hall, as well as other Northeastern buildings, when a 12-inch cast iron water main broke for an unknown reason early in the morning.

The water was not shut off completely, Lavoie said, there was just low pressure. However, rooms located on higher floors may have experienced no water flow because there wasn’t enough pressure to bring the water up that high.

“Low flow means no flow for some,” Lavoie said.

The breakage was not on an area controlled by Northeastern, but by Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC), Lavoie said.

Jeanne Richardson, manager of communications at BWSC, said the department does not look into the reason for breaks. When a problem like this occurs, BWSC shuts down the entire sector until they find the problem.

A burst can be caused by anything from settlement in the earth to a fracture in the pipes, Lavoie said.

Nate Audette, a senior marketing major and resident of West Village H, said he first found out about the break while walking home early Sunday morning when a friend of his walked through a large puddle caused by the breakage.

Audette said when he woke up later that day, his water was not working.

“When [I] turn on the faucet and nothing happens, no water, just the sound of air circulating through the pipes