About 15,000 customers are without water in Waterbury after a second water main break within a week.
The second break occurred Friday morning, just feet away from the original break that happened Tuesday night on Tompkins Street.
A boil water notice was in effect Friday for affected areas, including Bunker Hill, Town Plot and Country Club neighborhoods. Residents were instructed to boil water for one minute for drinking, brushing teeth, cooking and food preparation.
The city hopes water will be restored sometime this weekend.
"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.
The city is handing out bottled water at the Municipal Stadium North Parking Lot on Watertown Avenue. The Greater Waterbury YMCA is open to non-members for showers throughout the weekend. The city also plans to open some schools in order for people to use showers.
Pernerewski says restaurants in the affected areas are not permitted to cook and sell food, even if they boil the water before use.
“Restaurants and food services located in the affected area may not operate during the boil water advisory," Pernerewski said. "Unlike residences, they can't boil the water. There's a separate state code that deals with restaurants.”
Crews had fixed the initial break by early Friday morning and began introducing water back into the system around 1:30 a.m. By 3:15 a.m., about 10 feet away from the first break, there was another break.
Waterbury experienced a significant water main break on Thomaston Avenue in December.
Pernerewski said 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.”
Showers available
On Saturday and Sunday, residents affected by the water outage may use shower facilities at the following schools:
Jonathan Reed PreK-8 School, 33 Griggs St.
Noon-6 p.m.
Waterbury Career Academy, 175 Birch St.
8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Duggan PreK-8 School, 38 West Porter St.
8 am-3 p.m.
The Greater Waterbury YMCA is also opening its facility at 136 West Main St. for non-members in order to use showers. Saturday's hours are 7 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday's hours are 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
