A million gallons of water might have been lost to a major water main break in Middletown this morning and all public schools in the city, as well as several private schools, are closed today.
Surgeries have been canceled for the day at Middlesex Hospital and city officials are asking residents to hold off on using tap water if possible.
Mayor Daniel Drew said a major 24-inch water main burst this morning off Silver Mine Road, near the Rushford Center and Connecticut Valley Hospital. He described the water main break like a burst artery near your heart and said already-treated water was gushing rapidly out of the system.
Crews have isolated the main, shut it down and the system is coming back to normal with water levels and pressures building up, according to the mayor.
That being said, Middletown officials are asking residents to avoid using the tap whenever possible to allow time to replenish pressure and flush pipes. However, if water is clear, it can be used safely.
Vinal Technical High School, Mercy High School, Xavier High School, Saint John Paul II Regional School and Middlesex Community College will be closed today because of a water main break.
Because of the water main break, Middlesex Hospital in Middletown originally said they were postponing all surgeries until noon, but have canceled all surgeries other than emergency surgeries for the rest of the day.
The emergency department was on diversion to other hospitals, but that is no longer the case.
The Middlesex YMCA will also be closed until further notice.
Drew said part of the problem is that water was draining quickly out of the reserve tanks and the treatment plant couldn’t keep up supplying the necessary water for the rest of the community, causing pressure to drop and supply to be cut off to some places, the mayor said. Air also got into the pipe and led to reverse flows in the pipe and discolored or cloudy water.
Crews have begun flushing the water lines throughout the city to clear the lines of debris and said it is beginning in critical areas like near Middlesex Hospital.
While the debris and cloudiness are is normal and non-toxic, city officials are asking people not to use cloudy water. If you must use it, boil it first or get some bottled water for today.
Pressure is expected to return to normal early this afternoon, but crews will be flushing areas of pipe for several days to avoid rapid pressure changes and further bursts of pipe.
City officials are asking people to avoid using the tap whenever possible to allow time to replenish pressure and flush pipes. That said, if water is clear it can be used safely.
Mutual aid tanker trucks are stationed at each of the city’s three fire departments as a backup in the event of a structure fire. Southeastern Connecticut towns have also sent an additional five tanker trucks and two hose tenders that will have Middletown Police escorts in the event of a fire. This provides us with tens of thousands of gallons of backup water for fire suppression.
The emergency operations center is open with a unified command.
Middlesex Hospital is diverting ambulance patients to other hospitals and the city is coordinating additional potable water tanker deliveries for hospital patients.
The state Department of Public Health will be collecting water samples in conjunction with the city water and health departments to ensure water quality.
Most of the Westfield section of town will be relatively unaffected because it is being fed off of an already-treated tank at the Higby facility.
Middletown public schools, Vinal Tech, Middlesex and all of the parochial schools are closed so that the city can flush and replenish pipes.
Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com