Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski on Wednesday confirmed what many residents were hoping – days after a large pipe break disrupted water access to a majority of the city.
“Everyone should have water at this point,” Pernerewski said.
But city officials are asking residents to conserve water until the municipal water supply is replenished, according to Bradley Malay, Waterbury’s water superintendent.
“What I'm asking is that you allow us to get our system full and get it under control before everybody decides that they're going to do the routine things that they haven't been able to do for the past few days,” Malay said.
Waterbury residents are advised to boil their water until at least Thursday, when the city is expected to complete tests for water quality.
While the city now has water, Waterbury officials are acknowledging the poor state of the city’s water pipe system. Officials confirm efforts are now underway to improve the network of pipes to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future, as a new water main is to be installed at Thomaston Avenue.
According to the city notice, water usage levels have surged since the return of service, straining the ability of the municipal treatment plant to supply water. According to the city, it is now using more water than it typically does on the Fourth of July, considered the biggest day in terms of water usage for the city.
Schools will reopen starting Thursday, following three days of closures. But while water service has been restored, the ongoing boiling advisory complicates efforts to feed students. All students receive free or discounted meals at school.
Many meals will not need to be prepared, said Darren Schwartz, the school superintendent.
“A lot of the food is already pre-packaged, being able to be delivered,” Schwartz said. “The food that isn't pre-packaged, it will not need to be handled and cooked regularly.”
Water will continue to be distributed at Municipal Stadium Wednesday until supplies are exhausted.
Several residents have complained they still do not have water on social media. Pernerewski asked residents to call 311 for any ongoing issues.
“I know people are posting a lot on Facebook, on the neighborhood things,” he said. “I'm not going to tell you not to do that. That's fine, but that's not the way to communicate best with the city. So if you are having a problem, please call us.”
Immunocompromised residents and infants should avoid bathing in water until the advisory has been lifted, according to Aisling McGuckin, Waterbury’s health director.
But she said that does not apply to otherwise healthy residents.
“They can confidently shower with this water,” McGuckin said. “They can confidently wash clothes, wash dishes. If you're hand washing dishes, please let them drip dry. Don't use a towel to dry them, because if there were bacteria in the water… you're going to continue to just spread infection.”
The initial incident on Friday night led to most of the city lacking water, forcing people to bathe at a local YMCA or relatives’ homes and make the trek to distribution sites to pick up bottled water.
Pernerewski said he understood how frustrating it could be for residents.
Repairs at the Thomaston Avenue water main have stopped for now after the installation of a valve on another nearby main rerouted water away, Malay said.
But he said the city will soon overhaul that section, including a new main.
“We're going to rip it all out,” Malay said. “We're going to fix everything. We're going to put new pipe in the ground. We're going to put new valves in the ground, new air reliefs, new everything that we need in order to make this all brand new in that area of the city.”
City officials previously stated they would look at the rest of the city’s pipes for any deficiencies, noting it had already started work on revamping the aging network of pipes in the months before the main suddenly failed.
