DUNKIRK, N.Y. — At last word, they're hoping to finish isolating the water main break Tuesday evening at the intersection of Lakeshore and Deer Street in Dunkirk by using newly installed valves at either end. That will allow non-consumable water to start flowing again so that people can start doing laundry and be able to bathe again later Tuesday night.
The 20-inch waterline, which is over 100 years old, broke after midnight cutting off service to about 15,000 people in the Northern Chautauqua Water District. It takes in Dunkirk and stretches west to the Village of Brocton and East to the borderline with the Village of Silver Creek.
Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury explained it this way.
"We have to cut out the broken line and to do that we use valves to shut off the water. So we'll be able to isolate it and repair it. It's like cutting an artery so really we're performing open-heart surgery right now."
Once repairs are completed, they will check the water quality with sampling and testing by the Chautauqua County Environmental Health Unit.
Bill Boria is the Director of that Unit and told 2 On Your Side, "If everything goes good then we should be able to start sampling the water tonight, and then there will have to be another round of sampling. It's 24 hours and that means everything could be done for people to be able to consume the water on Thursday."
Mayor Willie Rosas of the City of Dunkirk says federal funding from the massive pending infrastructure bill in Congress would definitely help:
"If the infrastructure bill passes then we'd be able to pay for it to actually redo our piping system. Right now we just have to see if something breaks and then we fix it and then we have a situation where we have no water pressure."
If the repairs and water testing continue as expected then people should be able to start drinking and cooking with the water by Thursday.
For now, they're asked to boil water and limit usage as much as possible.