Water Main Breaks Leave Canonsburg Residents Without Water Service
CANONSBURG (KDKA) -- Several hundred people were left without water in Washington County well into the night because of several water main breaks.
Officials say four valves broke earlier on Tuesday in the Borough of Canonsburg.
Donna Bails, a Canonsburg resident, was working outside her Jefferson Avenue home Tuesday night, but one thing she wasn't able to do was water her lawn.
"Just, I come home from work and there was no water," said Bails. "I saw them over on Central, up on Pitt, all over working, so I just assumed there was a problem."
A tanker truck was parked outside the Borough Building for anybody who needed water.
A few blocks away, the sound of jackhammers could be heard around the borough as crews from the Pennsylvania American Water Company worked to make necessary repairs.
"Around two o'clock this afternoon, the water company was doing a major change over to the water line here in town," said Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome. "Whenever they were doing it, the valves that they need to transfer had broken, which caused them to have to shut the water down to at least 200, maybe even 300 homes here in town."
Tankers were also stationed outside of two senior citizen high rises in the community to make sure those residents had enough water.
As for Bails, she says she can live without running water temporarily, but hopefully not for long.
"It's an inconvenience, but you go get water and you just deal with it," she said.
Officials say they hope to have water service restored overnight.
It's not the first time and won't be the last that we hear about communities having to cope with aging and antiquated water supply systems.
In fact, the water company in Canonsburg estimates that the valves that ruptured Tuesday were more than 100 years old.
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