Parched New Jersey city gets some relief days after water main break caused taps to run low

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PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — Water pressure was improving Tuesday for thousands of frustrated residents in a northern New Jersey city with little or no service since a water main break late last week, but a boil water advisory for nearly 200,000 customers remained in effect.

Improvement began hours after crews isolated the leak Monday night, though officials said Tuesday that they still have not reached the broken main, which is some 30 feet underground in Paterson. Service was expected to slowly improve during the day Tuesday, but authorities warned that residents in highly elevated areas will have to wait longer.

Repairs were ongoing Tuesday in the state’s third-largest city, but it was unclear when the work would be completed.

“We did isolate the leak, significantly isolated it. There is still some water coming out, but the system is starting to recover," said Jim Mueller, executive director of the Passaic Valley Water Commission. “We’re getting reports and we’re seeing on our own gauges that pressure is starting to come up in parts of the system.”

The problems began Friday when the roughly 140-year-old water main broke. Some residents have had no water service since then and thousands continued dealing with extremely low water pressure.

The service disruption has frustrated many residents, including those who have been relying on portable showers and toilets to meet their basic needs. The water commission and city have been providing free bottled water to residents, including home deliveries to elderly people.

“It’s terrible. And I just want this to be better, that’s all,” city resident Gail Fletcher said. “We take water for granted. I gotta go to my sister’s house. I gotta go to this one house to take a shower. And the commode is terrible. That’s the worst part of it.”

Resident Diane Davis voiced similar feelings.

“It’s been hot," she said. "No water in the toilet. You have to use water to flush the toilet, shower, and you got a bird bath. It’s just a lot. It’s just depressing.”

The boil water order issued by the commission asks residents not to fill large jugs or containers, water lawns or open hydrants until at least Friday, and officials warned that the order may remain in effect until sometime next week. It affects Paterson and three smaller neighboring communities.

With roughly 160,000 residents, Paterson is a diverse city and one of the poorest in the state. It has a large Hispanic population, and census data shows the majority of its residents are foreign-born.