What to Know
- Water pressure should be gradually returning to the city of Hoboken, according to officials, a day after a water main break left most residents with no water service or low water pressure.
- Contractors working on an unrelated project allegedly struck a large main on Observer and Madison, which impacted water pressure citywide, according to the Veolia Water NJ utility company.
- Hoboken University Medical Center started evacuating some patients during the evening because of the lack of water; schools are set to resume classes after being closed on Tuesday
Officials say water pressure should be gradually returning to the city of Hoboken a day after a water main break left most residents with no water service or low water pressure.
Mayor Ravi Bhalla says crews have successfully isolated the broken water main, which he called “the critical step needed to allow water to flow around the area and water pressure to return to the rest of the city." Water was still flowing onto the road on Observer Highway and Madison Street Tuesday evening.
Bhalla said Tuesday evening that water pressure should gradually return through the night, but city officials warned residents that water disruptions may continue into Wednesday morning. Veolia, the company that provides city water, said crews were reopening valves to stabilize water pressure throughout the city.
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The problems in Hoboken began around noon Monday, when a construction crew accidentally struck the water main while working on an unrelated project. Bhalla said that a contractor for PSE&G was working on a gas line when it damaged the water main near the border to Jersey City.
"We are very upset about the situation, I am very upset about this situation," said Bhalla. "People can’t flush their toilets, take showers, brush their teeth. Basic things."
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Veolia said the force of the rupture penetrated two mains or an interconnection of mains, and it isolated one 16-inch main but was working to isolate the other one. The company had said that it was safe to drink the water (for those who have water), but later in the evening said that New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection had issued a "precautionary boil water advisory" for the city.
Tenants living in high-rises and large buildings have been affected the most the water outage.
"The challenge with a high rise is that you have a lot of residential density in one area. Situations like this with low water pressure, the water can’t go to the higher levels," said Hoboken City Councilmember Tiffanie Fisher.
Related problems prompted the city to issue a state of emergency and close public schools and municipal offices Tuesday, with all non-essential city services and recreational activities canceled. The Hoboken School District said that classes for all schools will resume Wednesday.
Hoboken University Medical Center started evacuating some patients during the evening because of the lack of water, and one emergency room patient said that staff was treating her hand wound with whatever they could during the water shortage — including "cleaning it with a water bottle."
Chief Medical Officer John Rimmer said that most EMS calls were being diverted to other hospitals, and only patients with life-threatening needs would be seen, and the ER will remain open. Rimmer said a mom in labor was taken to an different hospital, as ambulances from surrounding towns and cities lined up outside the medical center to take patients away. Others were discharged early.
Neighbors waited in line to fill up water jugs and containers after city officials set up at least 10 water stations and placed portable toilets across Hoboken. The main concern was to assist buildings with large senior populations, especially those who cannot leave their homes, said Bhalla.
The water main break impacted other towns in the area as well. Weehawken said in a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon that it lowered water pressure and some residents "saw discolored water as the system resets." The township also said that the water is safe to drink and no boil water advisories had been issued.
Hoboken is no stranger to water main breaks, but residents have shown their frustration about the lack of a timeframe to fully fix the issue.
"The situation is pretty bad right now," said Jasmeer Singh, who lives in the fifth floor of a building and still did not have water Tuesday evening. "No update has been given. They're saying we have to wait."
Christopher Halleron, the manager of communications for Veolia, told NBC New York that he "can't give you a timeframe. Our guys are out there working right now. What we need to is make sure we are doing it right and safely."
Mayor Bhalla said that the water shortage never should have happened, adding "residents of Hoboken have my word that people responsible will be held accountable."
Police were asking drivers to avoid the area between Observer Highway and Madison Street entirely as repairs continue into the night.
