Crews focused on cleanup, repairs after water main break in Edison, New Jersey
EDISON, New Jersey (WABC) -- Investigators in New Jersey are still trying to determine what caused a massive water main break in Edison, that sent water shooting out like a geyser directly onto a home for hours on Monday.
About 24 hours after a broken water main sent water spewing on top of a duplex on Woodbrook Drive, contractors continued to make repairs, shutting down part of the block.
"I came out of the house, I thought it was a fire with the water spreading over the roof of the house," said resident Barbara McMahon. "When I walked this way, there was a hole in the ground and the water was shooting directly at the top window."
Eyewitness News reporter Crystal Cranmore was told that crews working at the location hit a 30-inch water main around 4 p.m. on Monday.
Officials say Middlesex Water Company operates the line, but it wasn't their contractors who dug into the main.
Flags in the ground indicate contractors from gas and cable companies were working in the area.
"There were some cable workers digging the hole from one side of the road to another side," said resident Gobi Penugonda.
A woman who lives in the damaged home, too overwhelmed to talk on camera, said she wasn't home at the time the line ruptured.
A neighbor offered her a temporary place to stay after she was forced to evacuate.
Mayor Sam Joshi said the damaged transmission line doesn't supply residents so, water service to customers wasn't affected. Officials say that there were no injuries, and no residents were or are without water service.
Residents breathed a sigh of relief that the impact wasn't extensive.
"It's an accident, so we have to accept it, and mistakes will happen," Penugonda said. "But fortunately, all the departments acted quickly and they are taking care of it nicely."
Eyewitness News was told Tuesday afternoon that pipe work has been completed, and crews are now in the process of restoring water service once testing is completed.
"Repairs are still continuing and the road remains closed. Crews expect to fill and begin flushing the main tonight. We anticipate having the road re-opened tomorrow mid-day and that the main will be returned to service by Friday mid-day," Middlesex Water Company said in a statement.
Eyewitness News tried calling the cable and gas companies who service the area to track down the contractor who was responsible for the break, but have only heard back from Elizabethtown Gas, so far.
They had this to say in a statement:
"The Fire Department alerted Elizabethtown Gas about the incident last night and asked Elizabethtown Gas to shut off the gas to two houses for safety reasons. Elizabethtown Gas and our contractors did not have any crews working in Edison yesterday, when the incident occurred. Our priority is always the safety of the customers and the communities we serve."
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