Normal water pressure returns since 11 days after Paterson water main break; boil water advisory remains for some
Thousands of people remain impacted by the boil water advisory, including residents of North Haledon and Haledon.
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Since Aug. 8, water main break issues in Paterson have also disrupted several surrounding communities throughout Passaic County.
Passaic Valley Water Commission crews remain hard at work near Paterson Great Falls. Monday marked Day 11, and the water woes in the area continue.
The latest milestone shared Monday: water service has been restored but some boil water advisories remain.
Jim Mueller, the commission's executive director, describes the ongoing task as "complicated," citing the 140-year-old infrastructure and lack of layout documentation.
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"It turns out two of the mains had an interconnection that we did not know about on our plans, and it wasn't showing on any plans," said Mueller. "So, when we found that out, we realized we had to isolate two lines, that it wasn't just one - the 24-inch and the 30-inch."
With that discovery, the first order of business has been to get the 30-inch pipe back in service.
"Had finally put that into service last night, which made a real difference on really returning to normal operating pressure," said Mueller.
Now, normal operating pressure has been reported by both Passaic Valley Water Commission and the Manchester Utilities Authority.
"We're still in a boil water for about half of Paterson and Prospect Park," said Mueller. "Haledon and North Haledon are also still in a boil water, but we don't run those systems."
Paterson residents we spoke with just north of Broadway are some still under the advisory. Mueller understands their frustrations.
"I completely understand the frustrations," he said. "We were frustrated by it as well."
Customers with the advisory still in place should boil water for at least a minute before drinking, cooking, washing dishes, brushing teeth and more.
