About 60% of Waterbury residents remained without water for a third day as crews worked Monday to restore service.
That follows a massive water main break on Thomaston Avenue Friday night.
Most of the water service disruption was affecting people on the eastern side of the city. Mayor Paul Pernerewski said he expects water service to be restored quickly but advised residents who have water to continue boiling it before it's used.
“We fully expect by tomorrow [Tuesday] that the water will be flowing through those pipes, once all of that is taken care of,” Pernerewski said.
Residents were picking up water at two locations, the Municipal Stadium and Crosby High School.
Gov. Ned Lamont deployed the Connecticut National Guard to assist with water distribution.
Demand for bottled water remained steady, said Major Mike Wilcoxson, director of public affairs for the Connecticut National Guard.
“To date, as of last night, we were able to help distribute 96 pallets of water totaling over 30,000 gallons of drinkable water for the residents,” Wilcoxson said.
Residents on social media complained about the lack of water access.
“It's a frustrating situation,” Pernerewski said. “I understand fully the frustrations, and I share those, and I would just ask them to be patient. We've been working to find a solution to this as quickly as we could, and we have one at this point that I fully believe is going to work.”
The city replaced a valve on a nearby water main located at Huntingdon Avenue to route water flow away from the damaged water main, according to Waterbury Water Department Superintendent Bradley Malay.
But he said residents shouldn’t expect water to automatically come back once the city restores water.
“We're going to start pumping water, or that water is being restored, you might not see water for hours and hours and hours,” Malay said. “We can't just force water down the line, because air and water in pipelines causes problems.”
Pernerewski asked residents to open their bathtubs to push out the air that accumulated in the city’s water pipes. He said the more residents participate, the faster the water can start running.
He said water would be discolored due to sediment which had built up.
Grateful for hot showers
While they wait for their taps to flow with safe water again, dozens of residents got hot showers Monday courtesy of the Greater Waterbury YMCA. President and CEO Anthony Ireland has heard from grateful residents, thankful for the chance to take a shower for the first time in a couple of days.
“There's never a quiet day at the Y,” Ireland said.
Showers will be available again on Tuesday from 6 to 8 a.m., 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.
Ireland said he wants to stick by the YMCA’s mission – to be there for all.
“I’m thankful that our community wants to be there for one another and our community wants to help,” Ireland said.
Kristen Jones is the organization’s associate executive director, and her family of five, plus a dog, live in Waterbury. They haven’t had access to water at home since Saturday, and her family has been among those who have leaned on the YMCA.
“We've really relied on this place here to get us through the past few days,” she said. “You never realize how many bottles of water it takes to brush your teeth and wash your face.”
Ireland said he and his family were also affected by the water main break, and some of them, including his grandmother, haven’t seen their water return.
“It hasn't been easy, it's kind of like a movie, almost like you don't really understand, like that this is happening to us, but [we’re] just trying to do our best and tap into the resources that are out there,” Ireland said.
Jones said many people in her circle are turning to their loved ones in surrounding towns to get through the last few days, but said, “it's hard when your family is also experiencing the same crisis.”
One bright spot for Jones’ family – her 11-year-old son is enjoying the break from school. Waterbury schools will be closed again on Tuesday.
“He is totally enjoying an extended weekend,” Jones said. “He's hoping we don’t get water so he can have a really long Christmas break.”
The Greater Waterbury YMCA served about 40 people who aren’t members during one three-hour shift, Jones said. Neighboring centers including Southington-Cheshire and Naugatuck YMCAs have helped, and United Way of Connecticut donated hundreds of towels.
Jones said the YMCA would welcome donations of body washes, and volunteers to help direct people to the shower area.
Distributing water
At Crosby High School, one of two water distribution sites, nearly a dozen people with the American Red Cross and National Guard braved below-freezing temperatures to pile 24-packs of water into cars.
Elizabeth Rinehart, a volunteer, said people didn’t complain about the single pack of water.
“Everybody's been very generous and thankful for what we've been able to provide,” She said. “So just the overall generosity, especially during the holiday season.”
Rinehart was there since 9 a.m. She’s a pathologist in the area, and volunteered for the effort when an email went out asking for help.
“I'm actually on vacation this week, so I said ‘Hey, I'm not doing anything, It's better than staying at home and cleaning out my closets,’” Rinehart said. “Being a physician goes far beyond just working with patients in the hospital.”
By late morning, supplies were already limited and by early afternoon the site had to temporarily close to wait for more water to arrive.
“We distributed like 40,000 gallons of water yesterday, maybe more,” said Arthur Hopkins, the on-site supervisor with the American Red Cross of western Connecticut.
Water distribution will continue Tuesday at Municipal Stadium, 1200 Watertown Ave., and Crosby High School, 300 Pierpont Rd., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until supplies are depleted. The city will post updates online if the sites close to replenish supplies.
About the main break
The water main break occurred in a section of water pipe originally installed during the turn of the 20th century.
Since then, the city has worked to repair and upgrade its municipal water pipes including a current $30 million project to replace or upgrade pipes, including the pipes by the water main on Thomason Avenue, Pernerewski said. The city had identified 10 valves which were at risk of failing in September.
Then the water main broke, delaying the upgrades, which include relining the pipes to extend its service life.
“The system is old," Pernerewski said. “We know we're going to have these problems. This sort of a catastrophic problem is ... because it was a conjunction of all of these pipes in one spot. It's like one in a million that you could have this sort of an issue happen.”
