Earlier Monday morning, February 27th, 2023, a water main break occurred on Observer Highway and Madison Street in Hoboken after private construction workers hit the main and a State of Emergency had been declared, forcing schools and businesses to close. Repairs continued overnight into Tuesday and Wednesday and a water boil advisory was called. While the water main was replaced Wednesday morning, the water boil advisory remains — as of today, March 2nd, water testing is currently underway. Read on for more about what’s going on.
#Hoboken: Contractors working on an unrelated project have struck a large main on Observer and Madison, impacting water pressure citywide.
Crews are working to restore pressure.
There is no boil water advisory. Traffic restrictions in that vicinity @HobokenOEM @CityofHoboken pic.twitter.com/djMEbEmc5e— Veolia Water NJ (@VeoliaWaterNJ) February 27, 2023
Updates as of March 2nd at 12PM
As of 11:56AM, the boil water advisory has officially been lifted in Hoboken. According to a Nixle alert, repairs have been completed and subsequent water quality testing shows the water quality to be safe. The City of Hoboken suggests that residents flush service connections and interior plumbing for 3-5 minutes, as well as empty + clean automatic ice makers.
Updates as of March 2nd at 11 AM
Last night, Wednesday, March 1st, a Nixle Alert went out reporting that Observer Highway had reopened — which was followed by an alert this morning at 9:30AM, which stated that the NJDEP has started testing on water samples. As of now, the water boil advisory still remains, and it’s unclear at this time when it will be lifted. The City of Hoboken advises residents to boil water for at least one minute for:
- drinking
- cooking
- baking
- washing dishes
- making ice cubes
- taking medication
- brushing teeth
- washing food
- mixing baby formula or food
- mixing juices or drinks
- feeding pets
There is drinkable water at 12 water distribution sites throughout town, which are:
- Columbian Towers, 76 Bloomfield Street
- 400 First Street
- 700 First Street
- 221 Jackson Street
- 2 Marine View Plaza
- Fourth & Harrison Streets
- Church Towers, 5th & Clinton
- 514 Madison Street
- 455 Ninth Street
- Fox Hills, 311 13th Street
- 14th & Shipyard Lane
- Hoboken Public Library, 5th Street and Park Ave
Updates as of March 1st at 11AM
About 3 hours ago today, March 1st, Veolia Water tweeted that the main on Observer + Madison has been replaced. The City of Hoboken said that water pressure is currently reaching normal levels throughout town, but there are still sporadic locations without water. The water boil advisory is still in effect. Residents can pick up bottled water at DPW on Willow between Observer + Newark.
#Hoboken: Ruptured main on Observer & Madison has been replaced. Crews are restoring service to that main, which will further assist with water pressure levels citywide.
Boil Water Advisory remains in effect:https://t.co/S4tp86IhP9@CityofHoboken @HobokenOEM pic.twitter.com/GNlh1Gp8nf
— Veolia Water NJ (@VeoliaWaterNJ) March 1, 2023
Updates as of March 1st at 7AM
Last night, February 28th, around 6:01PM, Mayor Bhalla took to Twitter to share that Veolia had successfully isolated the broken water main — a “critical step needed to allow water to flow around the area.” While Mayor Bhalla said water pressure should gradually return, the City has not yet released a formal announcement indicating that the entire city has water.
Good news: we’ve been on scene as @VeoliaWaterNJ has successfully isolated the broken water main. This is the critical step needed to allow water to flow around the area, and water pressure to return to the rest of the city. Pressure should gradually return in the coming hours. pic.twitter.com/f1End3ThSD
— Ravinder S. Bhalla (@RaviBhalla) February 28, 2023
Then, at 10:17PM, a Nixle alert went out notifying residents of a precautionary boil water advisory. This means that residents are recommended to boil water before using it for drinking or cooking purposes. The boil advisory does not apply to water use for shower + laundry purposes.
Street cleaning has been suspended for the day. The most recent list of water distributions shared by the City includes:
- 400 First Street
- 15 Church Towers
- 514 Madison Street
- 455 Ninth Street
- 11th and Shipyard Lane
- 14th and Shipyard Lane
- 700 First Street
- 4th and Jackson
- 2 Marine View Plaza
- Brandt School, on 9t between Park Avenue + Garden Street
- HUMC on Clinton Street between Third and Fourth Streets
- 220 Adams Street
- 221 Jackson Street
- Fox Hills, 311 13th Street
- Fourth and Harrison Streets
- Columbian Towers, 76 Bloomfield Street
- Church Towers, 5th and Clinton Streets
- Public Works Garage, Observer Highway and Willow Avenue
Residents must bring their own containers to the water distribution stations.
Updates as of February 28th at 6PM
According to a Nixle alert that was sent out around 6PM, the ruptured main has been isolated. Hoboken remains in a State of Emergency, and the repairs will continue into the night. Veolia reported that residents will begin to see water return and water pressure increase over the next few hours — and warned that as repairs are made and the water pressure fluctuates, future main breaks are possible as the system stabilizes.
The alert also urged residents to continue to stay away from Southwest Hoboken, and to enter through the north end of the city.
Updates as of February 28th at 5PM
Per Patch, Hoboken University Medical Center, located at 308 Willow Avenue in Hoboken, will be evacuating patients. The emergency room will stay open for life-threatening cases.
Hoboken mayor Ravi Bhalla also tweeted updates about the situation:
Having just been on scene, Veolia has altered water flow to the region to continue attempting to isolate the water main break. The amount of water has been reduced from the ground, and we are hopeful that this will prove to be successful. https://t.co/uOCxBSl2NZ
— Ravinder S. Bhalla (@RaviBhalla) February 28, 2023
Latest Updates
On Tuesday, February 28th, Mayor Bhalla and the City of Hoboken provided the following updates:
“Veolia is continuing to locate and isolate the water main break in order to conduct repairs and restore pressure. Veolia has not issued a boil water advisory and according to Veolia, the water is safe to drink but residents throughout the city will continue to experience low to no water pressure.”
In addition, the Hoboken Fire Department will have a water tanker of non-drinkable water for dishwashing, bathing, toilet flushing, etc, available at the Hoboken Fire House at 13th Street and Washington Street. Residents must bring their own containers to fill and the water is not drinkable.
The Office of Emergency Management has also activated the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — who will visit the City’s six senior buildings to assist Hoboken seniors in need of water and additional assistance.
They also released a full Q+A for residents which can be found here along with additional details and information.
You can sign up for Nixle Alerts to stay up to date with all news regarding the City of Hoboken.
Resources
For a list of businesses that are open as of Tuesday, February 28th at 1PM, see this article. Note: as this is an ongoing issue, we will be updating this as more information comes in. Do check with the individual businesses before heading out.
Per the city of Hoboken, The Office of Emergency Management and Veolia has made drinking water available. Residents must bring their own containers to fill. Additionally, bathrooms are available to residents who are in need.
The water will be located at the following locations:
- 400 First Street
- 15 Church Towers
- 514 Madison Street
- 455 Ninth Street
- 11th and Shipyard Lane
- 14th and Shipyard Lane
- 700 First Street
- 4th and Jackson
- 2 Marine View Plaza
- Brandt School, on 9th Street between Park Avenue and Garden Street
- Hoboken University Medical Center, on Clinton Street between Third and Fourth Streets. (location slightly updated)
- 220 Adams St.
- 221 Jackson St.
- Fox Hills, 311 13th St.
- Fourth and Harrison Streets
- Columbian Towers, 76 Bloomfield St.
- Church Towers, 5th and Clinton Streets
There is also a water tanker truck parked outside 1302 Washington with non-potable water for toilet flushing, etc. — bring your bottles, Tupperware, or water bags to fill.
Porta Johns are available starting at 1:30PM at the following locations:
- YMCA, 1300 Washington St.
- 400 First Street
- 15 Church Towers
- 514 Madison Street
- 455 Ninth Street
- 11th and Shipyard Lane
- 14th and Shipyard Lane
- Hoboken University Medical Center, on Clinton Street between Third and Fourth Streets.(location slightly updated)
- 220 Adams St.
- 221 Jackson St.
- Fox Hills, 311 13th St.
- Fourth and Harrison Streets
- Columbian Towers, 76 Bloomfield St.
- Church Towers, 5th and Clinton Streets
What Happened
According to the announcement released by the City of Hoboken on Monday, February 27th, repairs are ongoing and expected to continue overnight into Tuesday morning. Residents should be prepared to have their service impacted overnight into Tuesday afternoon – this has now been continued into Wednesday.
The State of Emergency will remain in place until water is restored and the order is lifted by the Office of Emergency Management.
As per the New Jersey Department of Health, all establishments, including all gyms, restaurants, bars, and hair and nail salons, without running water must close until water is restored. All establishments with running water including supermarkets, pharmacies, and entities selling water can remain open.
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All drivers are instructed to avoid downtown and enter and exit the city from northern routes.
. @HobokenOEM has issued a State of Emergency due to the water main break
Water will be available at 7 locations starting at 4:30 p.m.
-HUMC
-220 Adams St.
-221 Jackson St.
-Fox Hills
-4th & Harrison Streets
-Columbian Towers
-Stevens’ Wesley Howe Centerhttps://t.co/RLWN31PmfM— City of Hoboken (@CityofHoboken) February 27, 2023
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