Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
DOVER TOWNSHIP -- Residents and businesses in a large part of the township experienced low water pressure and brown, discolored water Wednesday night as a result of a water main break on Vaughn Avenue.
And about 20 single-family homes and some apartment buildings and businesses in the immediate area of the break were without service until yesterday afternoon, said George Flegal, general manager of United Water Toms River, the water supplier.
A construction crew working on an Ocean County storm sewer project broke the 12-inch main on Vaughn Avenue just north of Route 37 about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Flegal said.
He said because the main is so large, the break caused a large amount of water to flow into the area, draining the company's storage facilities.
"A lot of the town was probably without service because of all the water flowing down there," Flegal said.
By about 8 p.m., United officials had shut off water service in the area, allowing the rest of the system to stabilize.
Police reported receiving more than 50 calls about low water pressure and discolored water Wednesday night.
Flegal said United officials have been speaking to county representatives about doing planned water-service shutdowns in the Vaughn Avenue area during the overnight hours Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The shutdowns will help the county complete the sewer system work more quickly, he said.
Customers whose service will be shut off will be notified with hand-delivered fliers, Flegal said. He said he was not sure how many customers would be affected.
On Monday, a planned shutdown of water service off Indian Hill Road angered some United customers when a water main break there extended their time without service.
Customers were initially going to be without service from 8 p.m. June 3 until 5 a.m. June 4, because work was being completed at the Lowe's home improvement store site off Hooper Avenue. A water main break kept service off in the area until 9 a.m., causing numerous complaints, Township Committeeman Michael Fiure said Tuesday.
Fiure said he hoped that the committee can be notified by fax in the future when United Water is considering shutting off service for any length of time.
Flegal also said the company was being deluged with calls from residents complaining about rust-colored, brown water. United has been unable to do its annual flushing of water lines because of state drought restrictions, Flegal has said.
Yesterday's main break caused large amounts of water to rush through the system toward Vaughn Avenue, stirring up iron that had accumulated in the pipes over the winter, Flegal said.
"We're getting a plethora of calls relating to dirty water at the moment," Flegal said. "We've got a lot of that iron sitting around."
Flegal said yesterday that he had spoken to Dennis Hart, drought coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Protection, about allowing the company to flush its system. Hart said the company can flush the system to alleviate the water quality concerns, Flegal said.
He said United plans to begin flushing the week of June 17, unless water demands increase dramatically.
The company plans to flush the system starting in the Silverton area, then moving to northwestern Dover, off Whitesville Road, and then to southeastern Dover. Flushing normally takes place during the day and in the evening.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 6/07/02
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