About a dozen homes remained under a boil water advisory Monday, after a water main break on Highland Avenue the day before caused water and power shutoffs for several more residences.
The Montclair Water Bureau and Sewer Authority got a call at 11:39 a.m. Sunday about the broken main at 499 Highland Avenue, director Gary Obszarny told Montclair Local Monday. A crew arrived on the scene and isolated the break by 12:30 p.m., stopping water flow to the compromised pipe.
Cleanup continued through the afternoon and evening, wrapping up around 11:30 p.m, Obszarny said. The crew closed Highland Avenue from Windsor Place to Mt. Hebron Road during the cleanup.
A boil-water advisory was issued for 12 houses in the area, and remained in effect as of Monday afternoon, Obszarny said. Water samples were collected Monday morning and results will be back mid-day Tuesday. If all samples are clean, the advisory will be lifted. Otherwise, the water will need to be resampled.
PSE&G was notified that its systems may have been compromised by the break at 1:30 p.m., PSE&G communications consultant Lauren Ugorji told Montclair Local. Service was shut off mid-afternoon for 240 homes in Montclair and Little Falls.
Power was restored in all but 10 of the homes by 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Ugorji said. PSE&G staff were working to get the remaining homes restored Monday, she said.
Water was shut off at Montclair State University around noon and returned at 2:35 p.m., director of media relations Andrew Mees said.
Students noticed water pressure changes around 11 a.m., and a 12:22 p.m. text alert from the university alerted students of the water break, according to a Sunday article in The Montclairion.
— Talia Wiener
