Hoboken residents still without water, but some repair progress has been made

HOBOKEN, N. J. — Major progress has been made in Hoboken to restore water, but the city remained in a state of emergency Tuesday night.

After nearly 30 hours, crews were finally able to isolate the broken water main Tuesday evening, which means now they can start making repairs. With crews finally finding the ruptured water main, Hoboken’s mayor says the city is turning a corner in this crisis. “It’s my hope that as the night goes on, water will incrementally be restored to the city of Hoboken and Hoboken residents will be able to do the normal things that they usually do,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said.

All 58,000 residents have had little to no water since a water main ruptured on Monday . Tom Johnson came back from a trip Monday night to low water pressure and woke up Tuesday morning to no water in his apartment. “My biggest concern is when can we get back water.

There are like whole families here. I’m worried about those people,” Johnson said. The city set up 17 water distribution centers, including one on Adams Street, where Sandra Cruz filled up.

“Everything is difficult. This is a senior citizen building and disabled people,” Cruz said. “Can’t cook, can’t clean any dishes, even if you have food.

Haven’t been able to shower. Have just been washing your face and brushing your teeth with bottled water,” resident Ali Deane said. “I think the city is doing a good job, but I would just like my water back as soon as possible,” Johnson added.

Businesses and schools were forced to close Tuesday, and CBS2’s cameras were there as Hoboken University Medical Center had to start transferring up to 100 patients to nearby hospitals. Others were being discharged early. “We don’t have ability for fire suppression right now on upper floors of the hospital.

We don’t have ability to sterilize equipment for life-saving operative procedure if that were to be needed,” said Dr. John Rimmer, the medical center’s chief medical officer. Marco Garcia’s wife was among the patients discharged early.

“My wife is not ready for it,” he said. The city blames a PSE&G contractor for accidentally hitting a water main while doing work and causing this whole mess, but a spokesman for the utility company told CBS2 the main was “unmarked or mismarked. ” “As soon as we get the water restored, we’re gonna come back, we’re gonna investigate, we’re gonna find out .

. . where were the markings done and we’re gonna take it from there,” said Sgt.

William Montez, the Office of Emergency Management operation chief. As residents wait for their water to be restored, some filled up bottles at the city’s distribution sites, while others resorted to fire hydrants. “The tanker that the town provided was empty, so we just happened to see the fire hydrant over here,” Hoboken resident Rishi Seth said.

“We came out here to fill up from the fire hydrants for our toilets,” Hoboken resident Casey Gludeth said. Hoboken is not out of the woods yet; the mayor says a major disruption like this can potentially create minor disruptions in the water system, which means residents could see more water main breaks in the coming days and weeks. The Hoboken Public School District, meanwhile, has announced that schools will reopen Wednesday for a “regular, in-person, full day of school.

” There are several locations where drinking water is available for residents, including: There are also portable toilets set up at the following locations: Ali Bauman joined CBS2 News as a general assignment reporter in 2016. Ali is a proud millennial who embraces social media for storytelling to bring news to a new generation of viewers. .