Several water main breaks across NJ prompt road closures, leave residents without water
The weekend of water mains breaks happened as temperature continued to plunge across the Garden State.
Jan 21, 2024, 11:33 PM
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Several water main breaks across New Jersey on Sunday closed roadways and left some residents without water.
The weekend of water mains breaks happened as temperature continued to plunge across the Garden State.
Crews were busy making repairs in Edison, Spotswood, Mahwah and Hoboken.
A cracked main on Harrison Street in Hoboken caused low to no pressure for residents on two blocks for a few hours Sunday afternoon.
The Mile Square City is no stranger to road closures and repairs due to these breaks.
Last February, a state of emergency was declared after a PSE&G contractor accidentally struck a water line, which caused flooding in a city neighborhood and shut down schools.
"It was awful. Everybody ran to the store, buying bottled water. I filled the bathtub up. I wasn’t sure how long we would not have any water for. It wasn’t a pleasant experience," recalled resident Mike Gozzillo.
The Office of Emergency Management provided residents with water during Sunday’s repairs. However, some residents call for more.
"They really need to invest in infrastructure. That’s really important. From what I’ve read, the infrastructure here is pretty old. And it’s not uncommon, especially in the northeast. And leaders need to make a commitment to really upgrading the infrastructure if the city is going to grow and prosper over the coming decades," Gozzillo added.
"Especially as students here, it’s hard to always have healthy water accessible. So it’s frustrating that we would have to go out and buy our own water. So I just think it’s something that’s important to put a bit of extra money towards," said resident Samantha Renda.
