At least three separate water main breaks wrought havoc in one New Jersey city Tuesday morning, leaving more than 130 customers without water and turning busy intersections into pits of mud.
According SUEZ, the utility that serves much of the affected area in Bayonne, the first main, a 10-inch pipe, broke at a building on 54th Street. Then a 12-inch main broke on First Street, followed by an 8-inch main break on West Third Street.
Chopper 4 footage over the area showed water bubbling up into streets and breaking up concrete. An intersection on First Street looked more like an excavation site than a roadway.
Crews were working to repair all three breaks through Tuesday morning. Customers were advised to expect low water pressure, if any. One man said utility workers knocked on his door early Tuesday to say he wouldn't have water through the afternoon. He said his wife took a bird bath with bottled drinking water.
It's not clear what caused the series of breaks. Suez left notes on many residents' doors saying their water service would likely be disrupted through 5 p.m.
