Jersey City Brewery Offers Water To Hoboken Businesses, Residents Under Boil Water Advisory

HOBOKEN, NJ — Restaurants and residents grappled with the second day of a "boil water" advisory in Hoboken Wednesday, a day after the city suffered from two water main breaks, lowering the water pressure citywide. But one area business has offered to help.

"We know the drill by now," wrote one Hoboken coffee shop on social media, as the mile-square city grappled with a 12-inch water main break. "While Hoboken is under a boil water advisory...our menu is limited until further notice."

Without clean water to make coffee and scrub dishes, several cafes in the city shut early or posted notes saying they were offering a limited menu.

Enter Departed Soles, a Jersey City brewery (of lagers and ales, not coffee), posted a note on social media Wednesday: "For anyone under the Hoboken boil water advisory...If you bring a heat tolerant sealable container to the brewery we can fill it for you with [water] from our hot liquor tank. Restaurants and residents welcome."

Company owner Brian Kulbacki told Patch on Wednesday afternoon, "Nobody took us up this time, but they have almost every other time! We're just here to support the community and this is one small thing we can do."

If you want the help, they're located at 150 Bay St., downtown.

Cafés in Hoboken have made the best of the situation.

"We have cold brews, iced coffee, matchas, and chais, all iced (nothing hot!) and made with bags of ice we purchased from another recent event," noted The Hive, a coffee shop on 10th Street, in a message.

Meanwhlie, at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the city of Hoboken said Garden Street had reopened downtown, but Newark Street remained closed from Washington Street to Observer Highway, near the border with Jersey City.

Hoboken remains under a Boil Water Advisory until further notice.

The city has made drinking water available for pickup at the following distribution sites, until 7 p.m. or as long as supplies last, whichever is first:

• Monroe Gardens, 221 Jackson St.
• Multi Service Center, 124 Grand St.
• Fox Hill Gardens, 311 13th St.

Why Are There So Many Breaks?

Some parts of Hoboken’s water system are more than 100 years old, the city noted. As cast-iron pipes age, they become brittle and are more prone to break from changes in temperature, pressure fluctuations, or vibrations.

Parts of the system have been upgraded over the years and are still being upgraded.

The city noted, "Beginning in 1994, the City of Hoboken sold the rights to the water system until 2024. A 30-year revenue stream of approximately $240 million was sold to United Water (now Veolia) in exchange for $13.2 million dollars in one-time payments. That former agreement required Veolia to make almost no proactive investment in Hoboken’s water infrastructure. In the past two plus decades, only $350,000 per year was invested in the system."

of Hoboken’s water system are more than 100 years old, the city has noted. As cast-iron pipes age, they become brittle and are more prone to break from changes in temperature, pressure fluctuations, or vibrations.

In May of 2022, water crews found a pipe from 1890 during street work in Hoboken (see the pipe embossed with "1890" here.)

Parts of the system have been upgraded over the years and are still being upgraded.

Beginning in 1994, the city of Hoboken sold the rights to the water system until 2024, the city noted on Tuesday.

A 30-year revenue stream of approximately $240 million was sold to United Water (now Veolia) in exchange for $13.2 million dollars in one-time payments.

"That former agreement required Veolia to make almost no proactive investment in Hoboken’s water infrastructure," the city said. "In the past two plus decades, only $350,000 per year was invested in the system."

In May of 2019, the city and then-Suez entered into a new water service contract investing at least $33 million in water infrastructure upgrades through 2034. The amended agreement established a new public water utility on July 1, 2019.

The City's Water Main ReplacementProject has already replaced over 25,000 linear feet (nearly five miles) of aging water mains since 2016, the city said. By the end of 2025, that total will grow to approximately 29,000 linear feet, the city said.

The city plans another 12,000 linear feet by 2030, representing nearly 20 percent of Hoboken’s entire water main system, the city said.