Boil Water Advisory Issued In Hoboken Due To Main Break In Jersey City

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Water pressure may be low from 5 to 8 p.m. in Hoboken and Jersey City on Tuesday evening as Veolia water continues working on a 36-inch water main break near the border of both towns.

"In an effort to complete repairs to the damaged 36” main as quickly as possible, teams will coordinate with Hoboken and Jersey City officials to execute a planned shutdown of the Jersey City interconnect beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18," said Veolia, in a release around 4 p.m. "Veolia will slowly switch the Hoboken water feed to a secondary source between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., allowing for water to continue to flow into Hoboken, while the work continues. Residents may experience low water pressure and pressure fluctuations during this time.

"In Jersey City, the Newport/Harborside area may experience water pressure fluctuations as those areas are fed from a secondary source to facilitate the repair. This will permit crews to make necessary repairs underground in the overnight hours and resume full pressure by early tomorrow morning when repairs are anticipated to be completed."

Prior Reporting

The city of Hoboken advised residents to boil water on Tuesday morning following a 36-inch main break near the border with Jersey City.

Some residents reported water being restored around 8:30 a.m., but at least one road was closed in the area, and the boil water advisory remained in effect later in the day, said city officials.

"Due to ongoing excavation and repairs of a water main break in Jersey City, on the border of southwest Hoboken, Jersey Avenue is closed in both directions at 18th Street in Jersey City. This road closure will be in place until repairs are complete, likely through tonight's evening commute and into the overnight hours," the city said in an alert before 11:30 a.m.

2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said, "Water flow is in the process of being restored from south Hoboken. This is a gradual process so as not to overwhelm our water system. I do not know how long it will take, but we are headed in the right direction."

At Kings supermarket uptown, gallon containers of water were gone from shelves, and associates arranged displays of smaller water bottles to sell.

Hoboken's public schools reopened 90 minutes late due to the break.

The city had sent out the "boil water" advisory just after 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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However, many residents reported having no water to boil. Pressure was low or non-existent throughout the city.

A Veolia spokesman told Patch Tuesday morning that there was no such "boil water" advisory for Jersey City.

36-Inch Main

Crews from Veolia Water had first said around 5 p.m. Monday evening that they were responding to a break at Eighteenth Street and Jersey Avenue in Jersey City. They continued working through the night.

They said water pressure "in the vicinity" might be low, and advised residents to flush their taps.

"Crews continue emergency repairs at 18th & Jersey Ave.," they wrote. "Customers in the vicinity my encounter low pressure and/or discolored water from naturally occurring sediments stirred up within the main. Flush taps until water runs clear."

Tuesday Morning

Tuesday morning around 6 a.m., they wrote, "Crews are working to restore water pressure to Hoboken following emergency repairs to a 36-inch main. we will continue to provide updates...as work progresses."

The break occurred nearly a year after another major break near the city's border with Jersey City closed schools and closed some businesses, which occurred on Feb. 27, 2024.

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said Tuesday, "Veolia is on sight trying to switch Hoboken's water feed over to a second access point that was installed when we had the last water main break specifically for situations like this."

Patch will update the story when new information is released.

More Resources

• To get free breaking news updates like this one, input your email address here.
• Updates from Veolia Water can be found here.
• The city of Hoboken's latest alert message is here.