2 more water main breaks in Hoboken as mayor, SUEZ water point fingers
HOBOKEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- Emergency crews continue to make repairs after yet another major water main break in Hoboken, as the mayor and water company continue to point fingers and escalate their war of words.
Mayor Ravi Bhalla went to court Wednesday, in hopes getting information he says SUEZ Water is withholding.
"Provide (us) with their internal documents, their studies, their statistics, their reports regarding Hoboken's water infrastructure," spokesperson Santiago Melli-Huber said. "So that we can better understand what is causing these water main breaks."
New video from early Wednesday morning shows water inside the PATH Station at Hoboken Terminal, where crews used pumps to get the water out while repairing the 16-inch main.
Then overnight, a 12-inch main broke on River Street between Hudson and Newark, the 17th break in just 64 days this summer. A small break Wednesday morning just a block away made 18.
Bhalla says some of the issues plaguing the city are the fault of SUEZ, which was contracted to maintain the century-old water system.
"This is a public safety threat to the health, welfare, and safety of the residents of the city of Hoboken, and I hold SUEZ directly responsible for this public safety crisis," Bhalla said.
Bhalla and SUEZ officials held dueling news conferences Tuesday.
"Hoboken's water infrastructure is over a century old in many places, and unless Mayor Bhalla stops pointing fingers and starts investing in the system, the problems residents are facing will continue to get worse, not better," a SUEZ spokesperson said in a statement.
A few customers were left without water overnight and bus service was temporarily affected. But full service resumed Wednesday, and PATH service was not impacted outside of a closed entrance.
Melli-Huber shared the following video after the break:
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