Some Westchester County customers lose water pressure

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Some Westchester County customers lose water pressure
Marcus Solis reports on a loss in water pressure for some residents in Westchester County

WESTCHESTER COUNTY (WABC) -- Areas of Westchester County were experiencing low water pressure or no water service at all Tuesday morning.

Customers mainly in southern Westchester County lost water after a safety valve tripped inside a shaft that connects them to the New York City water supply, according to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Larchmont were affected. The town of Mamaroneck reported that Westchester Joint Water Works was trying to re-route other sources of water to the town to resolve the problem in the meantime.

The Westchester County Department of Health said around 6:30 a.m. a flooding problem led to a shutdown of Shaft 22, which is operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and supplies water to parts of Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle.

DEP engineers reopened the valve around 9 a.m.

The city of Mount Vernon told customers that it was under a "water alert" due to the service interruptions, and residents and businesses were asked to reduce water usage until service was restored.

Teams from Westchester Health and Environmental Facilities departments were monitoring the situation.

Westchester teams began switching affected customers who were experiencing low or no water pressure to alternate water supplies.