by Amy Marchiano, originally posted on June 11, 2016

A water main break at Sixth and Market streets in Pottsville on Friday was due to a leaking joint.

Residents from 600 to 1126 W. Market St. on the north side are under a boil water advisory until Monday, at the earliest, according to Patrick M. Caulfield, executive director of the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority.

Caulfield said in an email Friday that 42 customers were affected. Under the boil advisory, customers should boil water for a minimum of one minute before drinking.

Doug Holley, a plumber with the authority, said he was in the area at 10:45 a.m. Friday and noticed water coming out of the road. Customers lost water from 10:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., when the water was restored, Holley said.

Holley did not know how old the cast iron pipe was but said it was probably “over 100 years old.” He said the leaking joint might have been due to age.

A backhoe with a cement buster was used to chip at a hole measuring approximately 6 feet wide by 12 feet long. Some of the water pooled in the hole and was pumped through a pipe down West Market Street. A fire hydrant on West Market Street was also turned on so water could flow out of it.

A belt clamp was used to repair the leaking joint.

By 5:15 p.m., the hole was paved over.

In related business, a planned water shutoff took place at 10 p.m. Friday to repair a water main in the city. Loss of water may occur until mid-afternoon today. Customers who experience a complete loss of water should boil water for a minimum of one minute before drinking. Affected customers may want to take precautions, such as bottled water, during the outage.

The affected areas are:

• 300-1398 Laurel Blvd.

• 305-1025 W. Race St.

• 601-1447 W. Market St.

• 300-1440 W. Norwegian St.

• 214-1132 Mahantongo St.

• 201-725 W. Howard Ave.

• 200-523 Schuylkill Ave.

• Second Street from Howard Avenue heading south to dead end

• Third Street between Laurel Boulevard and Race Street

• Third Street between West Division Street and Union Street

• Fourth Street between Laurel Boulevard and Race Street

• Fourth Street between West Division Street and Union Street

• Fifth Street between West Division Street and Pierce Street

• Sixth Street between Sillyman Street and Pierce Street

• Seventh Street between Arch Street and Howard Avenue

• Eighth Street between Laurel Boulevard and Howard Avenue

• Ninth Street between Burd Street and Howard Avenue

• 10th Street between Burd Street and Howard Avenue

• 11th Street between West Market Street and Howard Avenue

• 12th Street between Laurel Boulevard and Howard Avenue

• 13th Street between West Market and Johnson streets

• 14th Street between West Market and Johnson streets

• 15th Street between West Market and Norwegian streets

• All of Mine, Speacht, Grant, Vine streets