Anyone else downtown experiencing super dirty, rusty brown water right now?

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JC pays for emergency repairs so there is no incentive at all for United to perform preemptive maintenance. Hell, they may make money when there are breaks.

I suspect a number of these mains are at the end of their useful life. I had someone at a different water company tell me they have been relining the old water mains, which basically gives you a new pipe without having to dig the old one out of the ground.

Perhaps JC needs a similar pro-active program?

By Jonathan Lin/The Jersey Journal


An 8-inch water main broke at Myrtle and Ocean Avenues in Jersey City at around 11:25 p.m. last night, according to United Water spokeswoman Sonja Clark. The break, which was fixed by 4:30 a.m. today, marks the city's 8th water main break this week.

"Water was all over the place," said Peter Brown, 25, a local resident who was living in a house right in front of where torrents of water broke through the road, gushing up from a water main under Ocean Avenue.

Water from the water main flooded the area near the intersection, cresting over the curb of the sidewalk of one of the streets. Cones were set up around the flooded area to block off the street from traffic.

Residents said that their water last night had either been shut off or that the water pressure had been extremely low.

"The water was very weak," said Dorothy Johnson, 86, who lives near where the break happened. Johnson added that her basement had been flooded by water from the break, and that it was still wet at around 12:50 p.m. today.

Clark said the break had only affected four residents in Jersey City and that their water was restored by United Water workers by 4:30 a.m. today. She said there were no reports that there were issues with traffic due to water flooding the area.

The water main break at Myrtle and Ocean Avenues comes on the heels of one break at Grove and Grand Streets, four breaks under Coles Street, one break at Communipaw and Berry Avenues and one break at Bentley Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and West Side Avenue, all of which happened between Wednesday and Thursday.

On Thursday, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop stated that there was "a clear issue with the MUA and United Water on maintenance and usage" and called for forming a committee to "understand where the disconnect it and how they intend on fixing it."

Clark said that the breaks this week occurred because of a combination of colder weather and Jersey City's "old infrastructure."

"(The water mains) are prone to breakage when the temperature goes up or down, it's a regular occurrence because of the old infrastructure of the city," she said.

When asked about Fulop's discontent and frustration with United Water in light of the recent breaks, Clark stressed that United Water had responded promptly to the needs of the residents of Jersey City.

"United Water has responded to all reports of main breaks and has repaired them in a timely manner," she said. "Crews were working around the clock to repair water main breaks and restore water to all residents within the city."