Water main repaired after causing area-wide disruptions, court and school closures

A major water main that ruptured in West Pittston on Tuesday evening, disrupting service across the West Side and forcing the closure of Luzerne County courts and some schools, has been repaired, Pennsylvania American Water said Wednesday.

The break was reported in West Pittston around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday and affected customers in West Pittston, Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Swoyersville, Forty Fort, Luzerne and Kingston, according to the company.

Customers in affected areas experienced discolored or cloudy water, if they had pressure at all.

Repairs had been estimated to take 17 hours, and company spokeswoman Alana Roberts said repair work had been completed and service restoration was in progress as of mid-morning Wednesday.

In a statement, Roberts said aging infrastructure played a role in the extended outage. Many of West Pittston’s water pipes are over a century old, underscoring the need for ongoing system upgrades, she said.

“Older pipes and the layout of the West Pittston water system caused some customers to experience lower water pressure while our team repaired the broken water main,” Roberts said. “Our local team is reviewing this event to identify ways to respond even faster the next time something like this occurs. Pennsylvania American Water understands how disruptive service interruptions are, and we truly appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.”

The lack of pressure prompted Luzerne County officials to close several buildings on Wednesday, including the Luzerne County Courthouse at 200 N. River St.; the Bernard J. Brominski Building at 113 North St.; Veterans Affairs at 61-63 Water St.; and the district court offices at 555 Exeter Ave. in West Pittston and 2009 Wyoming Ave. in Forty Fort.

Hearings at Luzerne County Central Court were also continued, aside from the morning’s arraignments.

Other county buildings were open per their normal hours, officials said.

The break affected a number of area schools as well, with closures being announced for the Wyoming Area School District, Wyoming Seminary, West Side Career and Technical Center, Wyoming Area Catholic School and the Luzerne Intermediate Unit.

The Wyoming Valley West School District also held virtual classes due to the lack of water pressure.