MOUNT CARMEL - Ongoing concerns about water pressure in the east end of the borough have been heightened by the fire that damaged or destroyed six homes on the 200 block of East Second Street on Wednesday.
Six leaks were reportedly located and at least five of them fixed two weeks ago, following complaints of sporadic water pressure, but borough council Vice President Leroy "Chico" Moser said he lost all water service at his house - at the corner of Market and Seventh streets, about 5 1/2 blocks from the fire scene - while firefighters were battling Wednesday's blaze.
Moser said he's convinced there would not be enough water pressure to adequately battle two fires at different locations in the borough.
"We're kind of screwed with this nonsense going on," he said Thursday afternoon. "We never had high water pressure. I've lived here four years now, and it's never been good."
The latest concerns prompted an emergency meeting among officials from the borough and Aqua Pennsylvania, Roaring Creek Division, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Moser said the company will continue to monitor the situation and check for additional problems in the houses.
Clayton Hubler, Mount Carmel Rescue Squad, incident commander at Wednesday's fire, referenced a "hydrant problem" in which he said too many fire trucks were pulling water from three different hydrants in too small of an area, causing a limited water supply. He said, however, that it did not affect suppression of the fire.
Still sporadic
Joseph Kripplebauer, of 204 E. Seventh St., who presented a petition signed by 29 Seventh Street residents to council last month, and also filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) about the problem, said water pressure has been sporadic all week despite the leaks reportedly being fixed.
"It's a little better today, but not a whole lot," he said at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
He said if he flushes the toilet and at the same time tries to fill a container of water from his sink, it takes at least five minutes.
He said water pressure is worse at different times of the day.
"In the late hours or early morning, you can get a decent shower," he acknowledged. "It's hit and miss, but it stays slow," he said.
Leaks fixed
Tate Hunsinger, Roaring Creek Division manager, sent an email dated Oct. 25 to borough manager Edward T. Cuff III in response to a request to attend a public meeting concerning water service in the east end of the borough. In the letter, provided to The News-Item by borough President Tony Matulewicz, Hunsinger said he was not against meeting with the borough, but he told Cuff Aqua had located a number of problems.
Their search for leaks came after The News-Item published an article from the Oct. 18 council meeting at which Kripplebauer complained.
Here's what Hunsinger reported:
- A leak in Aqua's lines at 309 W. Fifth St. and a customer leak at 212 S. Oak St. were found Oct. 22. The Fifth Street leak was fixed and the customer was notified.
- An Aqua leak at 423 Center St. and a customer leak at 206 E. Avenue were found Oct. 24. The Center Street leak was fixed and the customer on the Avenue was notified, Hunsinger said.
- On Oct. 25, an Aqua main break was discovered at the intersection of Sixth and Willow streets, and was fixed Oct. 26.
- A main break on the Locust Gap Highway in Dooleyville, near the intersection with Dooley Street, was fixed Oct. 15. It was causing low pressure on Seventh Street, he said.
"We believe that when the leak detection is complete and all the leaks fixed, this should return Seventh Street to a normal operating pressure," Hunsinger wrote to Cuff.
Hunsinger and Donna Alston, Aqua's director of communications, said Monday they have heard of no additional complaints since they addressed the leaks. They said they were aware that one of the two customers with a leak had made repairs.
The section of Mount Carmel being addressed is higher than the other sections, Hunsinger said, so whenever there's a problem, the residents living there would be the first to see a decrease in water pressure and flow.
"You would see more competition for water there," Alston said.
Moser said all residents deserve the same water service in the borough.
"I won't be letting this go," Moser said.
Firefighters concerned
Anthracite Steam and Fire Company Chief Jack Williams Jr. and several fire fighters tested the static pressure (pounds per square inch, or psi) and flow (gallons per minute) at a fire hydrant on the corner of Seventh and Market streets at 8 p.m. Oct. 24 by using one engine and a ladder truck, which is equipped with a flow meter.
The static pressure was recorded at 29 psi, and it decreased to 25 psi after water was allowed to flow to the ladder truck, but not through it, Williams said.
The initial flow pressure dropped to 9 psi when water was allowed to flow through the ladder truck, and then dropped to zero within a few seconds without increasing the pressure with the engines, he said.
The engine was idling for the duration of the test with a discharge pressure of 50 psi and the flow meter on the ladder truck showed 388 gallons per minute (gpm), he said.
The Insurance Services Office recommends 1,500 gpm to adequately fight a dwelling fire, Williams said.
If the fire truck started pumping water from the hydrant, Williams said they "would be sucking water out of toilets" from the nearby houses.
"There's not enough water to fight a fire in that section of town," he said.
When Aqua finishes their inspection of the water lines, Matulewicz said another test of the hydrant will be done.
Otherwise, he is satisfied with the direction Aqua has taken.
"They're telling us they're on it. We will let them take this course, and if it's still low pressure, we'll have to get on them," he said last week.
Matulewicz, contacted Thursday, said he hadn't talked to anyone about the issue this week, and he wasn't able to attend Thursday night's meeting.
If the situation does not improve, Moser said another meeting will be held with Aqua, but this time the residents will be invited.
There are 98 hydrants in the borough, which pays Aqua $2,156 a month for water service to them.