Workers have removed the damaged water mains at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson that have knocked out service for an estimated 200,000 Passaic County residents since Friday.
As of 12 p.m. Thursday, an excavation hole had been dug and the Passaic Valley Water Commission crew was waiting for the replacement pipes to arrive by truck from Alabama, commission Executive Director Jim Mueller said at a news conference.
“We’re starting to recover now with water pressure, trying to get water into places where it wasn’t,” Mueller said at a noon press conference held high atop a hill on Paterson Avenue on the Haledon border. “Most, if not all, of Paterson residents should have water pressure recovering by early this evening.”
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh asked residents to continue conserving water. “We’re making progress. We’re not back to normal yet.”
Mueller said “recovery” is not the same thing as “restoration” of water service. He estimated that “tens of thousands” of Paterson residents whose taps were dry have now “recovered” some water pressure, but restoration of service was still days away.
The same holds true for Haledon, North Haledon, and Prospect Park, he said.
Mueller was hoping the new pipes would arrive on Thursday afternoon. Only after they are cut and installed will things begin to return to normal, which will take several days, he said.
“I understand the frustration,” Mueller said. “We want to get them water as soon as possible.”
Water distribution sites in Paterson, Haledon, North Haledon, and Prospect Park will remain open through the weekend.
A comfort station with showers at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson will remain open, as will the mobile shower unit that Prospect Park has set up outside its elementary school on Brown Avenue.
Paterson has set up a hotline for seniors and disabled people to order water deliveries to their home. The number is 973-321-1410.
Police in Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park are also delivering water to shut-ins.
Haledon residents can pick up water and shower at the recreation center at 83 Roe St. They can also pick up water at Manchester Regional High School.
North Haledon residents can pick up bottled water at the public works yard on Willowbrook Court.
In the meantime, the boiled water advisory remains in effect and people are being asked to conserve water. The Passaic County Department of Health initially ordered establishments that prepare food to close, but in recent days, many have reopened.
In Haledon, a popular bar, Jimmy Geez, has brought in its own water truck on Tuesday. Owner Jimmy Garruto said he relies on the water truck mainly to flush the toilets and is using paper cups to conserve water.
“We’re still tweaking with it, but it works pretty well,” he said. “At least we’re open.”
A car wash on Union Avenue in Paterson was doing a robust business on Thursday. Sayegh, Paterson’s mayor, said the business can stay open because a state of emergency hasn’t been declared.
“We don’t have the power to shut them down,” Sayegh said.
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