Crews are still working on major water main fixes in Waterbury, following a catastrophic break that left the city without water earlier this month.
They’re currently working to repair the breaks to the water main on Thomaston Avenue. The street has been closed to vehicular traffic for weeks. Officials said on Monday they hope to have it reopened in about two weeks.
Mayor Paul Pernerewski (D) said crews were on site to repair a part late Sunday night, and water had to be temporarily shut off.
“There was a leak in the emergency stop valve that had been put in,” Pernerewski said. “It was bent a little bit at the bottom, and water was getting through. It was working, but water was getting through, which was still filling the hole. In order to start doing the repairs, we had to get the water to stop flowing into that hole last night. We were able to do that.”
Crews are working to repair the pressure line, the pipe, and then finally, the main.
“It's just a matter of getting into this hole behind us, ripping out all of this bad pipe and replacing it with new pipe,” Water Superintendent Brad Malay said. “I have been told that the timeline is probably 10 to 12 days to get the road completely open and ready to be passable again, provided we don't run into any huge snowstorms or anything that prohibits us from being out here.”
Nearly 100,000 people were left without water after the main broke on December 12. School and restaurants were forced to close for days.
