Valve Rupture Leaves Most Of Millvale Without Water Service
MILLVALE (KDKA) -- The last thing any business owner wants to do on a busy Saturday night is turn customers away, but in Millvale, restaurants like the Grant Bar and Lounge couldn't operate without water.
About 95 percent of the homes and business in the borough were without water service for most of the day Saturday.
Shortly before midnight, the main service valve under Lincoln Avenue ruptured. At first, crews had a difficult time isolating the break.
"At that time, to make the proper repairs in a timely fashion, they had to shut down the main line that feeds the majority of buildings in Millvale," Emergency Management Coordinator Jim Machajewski said.
Joe Roethlein owns the historic Grant Bar and Lounge.
He told KDKA's Kym Gable, "Well, we don't have no water and we can't open and we're losing money. [It would] be different if it was on a Monday or Tuesday. [I] wouldn't care so much, but weekends - all restaurants make their money.
"We just prepared like we were going to be open and it's just a waiting game," bar manager Mary Ziegenfuss added. "We want to make sure we can serve everyone once the water comes on, but we can't really do much."
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority spent all day on scene. They had the gaping hole filled in by 7 p.m.
They planned to slowly start restoring service throughout the rest of the evening.
Machajewski says perhaps the biggest impact was on emergency responders.
"We made sure we brought in extra tankers of water, extra engines and extra manpower," Borough Manager Amy Rockwell said.
Other municipalities helped the fire department with equipment and supplies.
Rockwell says she is thankful there were no fires or major incidents during the outage.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.
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