MOUNT CARMEL - A Seventh Street resident wants Mount Carmel Borough Council to put the pressure on Aqua PA and the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) for sporadic water service throughout the borough.
Joseph Kripplebauer, of 204 E. Seventh St., presented a petition of 29 names he collected Wednesday night along Seventh Street and a complaint filed to the PUC to the board Thursday night during the regular board meeting.
He described how water pressure would be strong one day while other days it was weak. There are days he can't wash his dishes, take a shower or wash his car without neighbors requesting him to stop so they can take a shower. Some neighbors are taking showers at 3 a.m. so there's enough water to get clean.
The issue has been an ongoing one for several years, but Kripplebauer has only been acting out against it since March, he said.
To address the issue, Kripplebauer has spent his own money to purchase specialized nozzles and showerheads for his house.
He even had Clover Hose Fire Company Captain Bing Cimino test the water at a fire hydrant on Market and Seventh streets, only to find it have inadequate pressure.
President Tony Matulewicz said there might not be anything the council can do for the personal residents' water service, but if there are problems with a fire hydrant, that's an issue of public safety.
"That's big," Vice President Leroy "Chico" Moser agreed.
Matulewicz instructed borough manager Edward Cuff III to have Cimino or American Hose and Fire Company Chief Jack Williams Jr. test the water again and make a report.
He also agreed to contact state Rep. Kurt Masser (R-107), and set up a meeting with the necessary people to make efforts to solve the problem.
In other business, the council approved:
- The sub-contracting of snow removal on Northumberland County-owned bridges to the Anthracite Steam Fire Company.
- The purchase of two borough cell phones not to exceed $40 a month for the street and code enforcement departments.