Waterbury's boil water advisory was lifted Monday afternoon, days after the city’s aging water system failed, resulting in two main breaks on the same street that affected about 15,000 residents and businesses.
Residents may now resume normal use of tap water.
The city is encouraging residents to run faucets for a few minutes to allow clean water to flush their plumbing system.
Officials say water samples throughout the affected neighborhoods tested negative for total coliform and E coli bacteria and that the water meets all state and federal drinking standards.
The lifting of the boil notice comes after crews completed repairs early Saturday morning to the second water main break, and service was restored incrementally.
While boiling water before cooking or drinking may have been a headache, it’s necessary after the water pipes were turned back on after going so long sitting empty, said Aisling McGuckin, who heads the city’s health department.
"There's always a potential that air could be introduced," McGuckin said. "Where there's air, there's food for bacteria to grow."
The second main break occurred Friday morning just feet away from the original break that happened Tuesday night on Tompkins Street.
"I know this is an extraordinarily frustrating process, and we are doing everything we can, we're working as expeditiously as we can," Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski
said at a press conference Friday afternoon.
Crews had fixed Tuesday's initial break by early Friday and began introducing water back into the system around 1:30 a.m. By 3:15 a.m., the second break was spotted about 10 feet away from the first break.
A boil water notice had been in effect for affected areas, including Bunker Hill, Town Plot and Country Club neighborhoods. Residents were instructed to boil water for one minute before drinking, brushing teeth, cooking and food preparation.
The city handed out bottled water over the weekend at Municipal Stadium, while some schools as well as the Greater Waterbury YMCA opened their doors to residents to take showers.
Last week's water woes come after Waterbury experienced a significant water main break on Thomaston Avenue in December.
Pernerewski said Friday the city hadn't had a previous issue with the Tompkins Street pipe, but it is about the same age as the Thomaston Avenue pipe.
“We're looking for ways to identify those problem areas and to preemptively try to deal with them," Pernerewski said. "So we continue to work on that. We should be coming forth with something in short order.”
McGuckin said the city’s water infrastructure is, in some cases, more than 100 years old. As a result, the older pipes have failed more often.
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat who represents a part of Waterbury, says she's working to find ways to assist the city with the pipe problems.
“I have already requested funds to support the city in this endeavor, but I plan to continue working with the mayor," she said.
Last week's main breaks weren't an isolated incident, she said.
"This isn't a new issue, it isn't a new failure," she said. "This is something that's been going on and on but we're seeing it with more frequency and people are just made more aware of the urgent need to update this infrastructure."
