SCRANTON, PA — Emergency crews from Pennsylvania American Water are working to repair a ruptured 24-inch water main along the 200 block of North Washington Avenue that severely disrupted downtown Scranton.
The massive pipe burst caused localized street flooding along the block, buckled surrounding sidewalks, and triggered widespread outages and severe pressure drops throughout the downtown area. The disruption forced the closure of local businesses, Scranton City Hall, and several other municipal and government buildings.
A Boil Water Advisory has been issued for approximately 800 customer hookups across 34 downtown streets. To assist impacted residents, contractors have deployed emergency drinking water tankers at two primary downtown sites: Wyoming Avenue and North Washington Avenue.
Because of the ongoing water outage and building closures, tonight’s scheduled Scranton City Council meeting has been officially moved to West Scranton Intermediate School.
Pennsylvania American Water released a statement indicating that crews anticipate completing emergency repairs on the broken main by 9:00 a.m. this morning, though the boil water advisory will remain in place until safety testing is finalized.