Boil-water advisory after late-night valve failure; hospitals, nursing homes prioritized

An unidentified official urged residents to boil all tap water and avoid drinking it after a valve failed late last night, cutting supply across the system. "In the meantime, boil your water. Don't drink anything otherwise. It's just too risky to do so," the speaker said.

The speaker said the failure occurred "about 11:00 last night" when a valve blew and knocked out a smaller distribution line, followed by the failure of a 36- to 42-inch main, which caused widespread outages. Officials said crews must shut off the water to inspect the damage and begin repairs.

"First thing we've gotta do is shut off that water there so we can get in and see the nature of the damage," the speaker said. The official added that spare parts have already been ordered so repairs can begin without delay: "The Waterburger is not waiting to get to the diagnosis. They've already ordered up a variety of different spare parts necessary, so we'll be able to take care of this."

Officials said they have prioritized the most vulnerable users. "That starts with our hospitals, making sure that our hospitals have the water there, getting the tankers there, making sure they have the support," the speaker said, confirming that Waterbury Hospital "right now is open and will be open to do everything we can to keep that." Nursing homes were identified as the next priority.

The speaker said restaurants will likely remain closed for the evening because of the advisory and apologized for the disruption, noting officials will try to find alternatives for affected businesses. On schools, the speaker said that given the emergency, "Monday is too early" to resume normal operations and reiterated that potable water distribution would be provided to affected areas.

The official promised crews would work to shut off the damaged line, install the ordered spare parts and restore water service "as soon as humanly possible." The announcement did not provide a specific restoration timetable or identify which agency is leading repairs.