Water main break in Edison, New Jersey impacts thousands of homes and businesses
EDISON, N.J. -- A massive water main break Thursday in New Jersey continues to cause problems for thousands of people during the holidays.
Crews have been working to repair the break in Edison and restore full service to thousands of homes and businesses that have been left with little or no pressure.
A boil water advisory remains in effect.
"The flow of water has at times been off or has been inconsistent, but has consistently been low pressure water," Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said. "There was no direct contaminant that we saw, but we want to be in an abundance of precaution."
Joshi said he hopes service will be restored at some point Friday morning.
In response to the break, Joshi's office announced the opening of the Edison Senior Center, located at 2963 Woodbridge Ave., for restroom facilities from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., adding it will be staffed by a Health Department staff member and an Edison police officer.
Officials blame aging pipes and frigid temps
The 20-inch water main broke at around midnight Thursday and sent water gushing from the ground just off Woodbridge Avenue near Ben Franklin Elementary School.
"Oh, we barely have any water. I was there around midnight. I heard a boom and then a rumble. I thought it was the turnpike, and then we didn't have any water pressure," Marina Hunt said. "We just have to deal with it until it's fixed."
Hunt and other people living at the Edison Terrace Mobile Home Community said losing water right after Christmas was very poor timing.
Crews have been working around the clock to restore service. Officials blamed the water main break on frigid temperatures and aging pipes.
"Obviously no one wants to be in this situation. I assure you, all of our crews, along with our emergency crews, are working as rapidly as possible to fix this," Joshi said.
Joshi said some of the pipes date back 80 years.
"It has been horrible. I have to wash dishes with my bottled water, and that's cold," Edison resident Karen Myers said. "It's just an inconvenience, total inconvenience. I hope it's fixed real soon."
Business resorts to rinsing dishes with bottled water
Businesses at a Route 1 shopping center about a mile north of the water main break were operating without any water service at all.
"Businesses and residents along Route 1, Woodbridge Avenue, Route 27 are all impacted. Our crews are working pretty hard. Actually, they're working very hard. They've been at this for hours, trying to first isolate the break, itself, and then they are going to begin repairs," Joshi said Thursday morning.
Kaito, a bubble tea shop, stayed open despite the challenges.
"It's hard for us to wash dishes and stuff like that. So we have to buy bottled water to wash all of our stuff and even rinse anything or make any drinks. So it's pretty tough," owner Justin Zhu said.
A Subway restaurant next door had similar problems.
"Almost everything over here needs water. We don't have much to do that. Our fountain machine is off because it needs water. We can't do the dishes because we have to have water," employee Bansari Patel said.
A boil water advisory also remains in effect in Verona following a water main break on Thursday afternoon.
Officials said there were periods of no service, low pressure and discolored water.
