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Good morning,

An update to this morning’s press release: approximately 15,020 residents and businesses are expected to be without water service until repairs to the second break are completed.

The Water Department and Dayton Construction crews remain on site assessing the damage and determining the necessary repairs. Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

July 31, 2026

Contact: Jennifer Rose

Press Secretary, Office of Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski, Jr.

Email: Jrose@waterburyct.org

Water Main Repair Efforts Impacted by Second Break; Outage Area Expands

The City of Waterbury is providing an update on the ongoing repair of the transmission water main break on Tompkins Street.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday, crews from the Water Department and Dayton Construction successfully completed repairs to the original section of the damaged transmission main and began the process of gradually reintroducing water into the system.

As crews began restoring water to the system, a second section of the transmission main, located approximately 10 feet from the original repair, developed a break. Crews immediately shut down valves on Watertown Avenue to stop the flow of water and began excavating the area to assess the damage.

Once the damaged section has been fully exposed, crews will determine whether the replacement parts currently on site are compatible with the new break or if additional materials will be required. Until that assessment is complete, the city is unable to provide an estimated timeline for repairs or the restoration of water service.

As a result of this new break, the area impacted by the outage has expanded. In addition to those customers already without water service, residents and businesses in the Town Plot and Country Club neighborhoods should expect to lose water later this morning as storage tanks are depleted.

As additional customers become affected by the outage, the city is issuing an Alert Waterbury emergency notification through its Reverse 911 system to impacted residents and businesses. Residents and businesses who have not yet signed up for Alert Waterbury are encouraged to enroll at waterburyct.org/alerts to receive emergency notifications by phone, text message, and email.

The precautionary boil water advisory remains in effect for all previously affected areas and is expected to be expanded to include the newly impacted neighborhoods as water service is restored. Residents in all affected areas should boil water intended for drinking, cooking, food preparation, or brushing their teeth until the advisory has been lifted by the Water Department.

"This is certainly not the news any of us wanted to share this morning," said Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski, Jr. "Our crews worked through the night to complete the original repair, only to encounter another break as water was being restored to the system. I know how difficult this has been for the thousands of residents and businesses affected, and I want everyone to know that every available resource remains focused on getting this repaired and restoring service."

The city will continue distributing bottled water to affected residents at the Municipal Stadium North Parking Lot, 1200 Watertown Avenue, today from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Residents in the newly affected neighborhoods are also encouraged to utilize the distribution site if they lose water service.

The city will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.