Large excavator knocks out water main in Middletown demolition.
Crews worked for several hours on Monday to shut off water to a damaged water main at the Aetna complex on Middle Street. The pipe broke due to demolition work at the site, knocking out water pressure in the western part of the city.
Guy Russo, director of the Water and Sewer Department, said his department completed their testing on the Aetna site around 6 p.m. Russo said the water main was disused because the Aetna site is vacant, so his department decided to shut off its valves and abandon it.
“As best we know, everything’s pretty calm up there,” Russo said. He said he took a tour of some of the affected neighborhoods, talking with residents he encountered to see if their water service was back to normal.
Earlier in the day, though, Russo said the scene was quite different.
Russo said his department started receiving calls about low water pressure in the neighborhood around Brechlin Drive and Atkins Street around 1:30 p.m. April 18. He said his crews were able to pinpoint the problem to the Aetna complex, where a contractor operating “a very, very large excavator” hit an eight-inch water main.
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