For Erie Water Works crews it’s been a non-stop stretch of responding to water main breaks. “We had 18 failures over the weekend,” said Erie Water Works CEO Craig Palmer, “and so our men have been working very diligently and tirelessly to get people back in water service as quickly as possible.”
Sustained frigid temperatures have force the frost level three and a half feet deep into the ground. “So we’ve had an uptick in water main breaks, we’re already at 40 in February alone – which is certainly tracking very high for what a normal February would be,” Palmer added.
Two of the weekend water main breaks are just east of the Mercyhurst University campus on Briggs Avenue near 38th Street, and farther south at 43rd Street, leaving students in both the Briggs and Duval Apartments without water for a couple of days.
Student Bleu Gavadin, who lives in the Duval apartments, expressed frustration that campus officials didn’t provide information about the breaks sooner, so students knew what to expect. “The water main break is not their fault, it’s the lack of communication that frustrates us as students,” Bleu said. “There hasn’t really been any resources for water…so I can’t do like laundry, my dishes, use the rest room – if I need to use the restroom, I have to walk to the closest academic building,” she added, clearly irked by the inconvenience.
Addison Gay, also coping without water, said it’s been especially difficult for her roommate, who doesn’t have a meal plan and needs to cook meals and wash dishes in the apartment. “My roommate, I think she’s going to go home because she lives like 5 minutes away, and I will probably end up at a friend’s apartment to take a shower at some point today,” she said laughing.
When Erie Water Works crews get going on repairing a water main break, it usually takes about 4 to 8 hours, but on a weekend like this past weekend, when there are 18 different water main breaks, sometimes customers like the Mercyhurst students just have to wait.
And until a sustained weather warm-up arrives, others may be waiting too if the water main breaks continue to mount. “We average about 245 main breaks a year, last year we were closer to 300,” Palmer said, “and so this year, the way things are going, I would expect a little bit above average as well.”
If you suspect a water main break because of reduced pressure, or water running in the street around your home, you can call the Erie Water Works 24 Hour Emergency Number at 814 870-8087.