Broken water main fixed in Hoboken, water service restored, but boil water advisory remains

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Broken water main fixed in Hoboken, water service restored

A broken water main that had been causing problems for days in Hoboken was finally fixed Wednesday, but a boil water advisory remains in effect.

HOBOKEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- A broken water main that had been causing problems for days in Hoboken was finally fixed Wednesday and water service was restored.

A precautionary boil water advisory, recommending that customers boil their water before using it for drinking or cooking purposes, from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection remained in place as Veolia Water tested samples.

Wednesday afternoon, crews worked to fill in a massive hole in the street near the intersection of Observer Highway and Madison Street where water had been gushing out of for three days.

"Currently our mains are at full capacity, they're fully charged. So, water pressure will be steady at the mains throughout the city," Veolia Water Communications Director Chris Halloran said.

For 60,000 residents it's been two and a half days with little to no water while Veolia had to first find and then shut down two ruptured mains.

The breaks occurred when a PSE&G subcontractor punctured them.

PSE&G said that they were either unmarked or mismarked and not on any map that they were using to survey the work area.

After restoring water service, Veolia was also monitoring the system to make sure the breaks don't cause further problems.

"We're currently working with the city to put in some leak detection technology so that if a leak does occur on mains throughout the city we're able to catch it right away," Halloran said.

ALSO READ | Arrest warrant out for teammate in crash that killed local UGA player