Water main break closes Second Street and Cuyler Avenue in Jeannette

Pat Pfeil, who lives on Cuyler Avenue in Jeannette, admitted she had a difficult time getting her 2-year-old grandson to take a nap Wednesday.

He “was looking out the window and saw we had a water gusher squirting into the air. All the fire trucks were here directing traffic, and then the heavy equipment came in to fix the line break,” Pfeil said. “He was really excited and didn’t want to go to sleep.”

Pfeil lives about 40 feet away from a water main break that sent water spraying about 15 feet into the air at times. Crews from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County shut the line off about 1:30 p.m.

“A neighbor came by about 11 a.m. and asked if I knew what was going on outside and saw there was a trickle of water flowing down the street. A little while later, it turned into a whole gusher,” Pfeil said.

Authority spokesman Matt Junker said crews received word of the break at 1 p.m. and were hoping the repairs would be completed sometime early Wednesday evening.

He said it was a 14-inch line that broke and customers within a block of the break were temporarily left without water service.

Jeannette officials about 1 p.m. warned motorists to avoid the area of Second Street and Cuyler Avenue due to the break.

Cuyler was closed between Bullitt Avenue and Second Street due to the break. The recommended detour route is using Clay Avenue to access Second Street and the upper half of Cuyler Avenue.

Pfeil reported she still had water service about 2 p.m. but was having an emergency supply of drinking water delivered “just in case.”

Jeannette was not the only area municipality to experience water problems Wednesday. The authority’s website reported water service in Lowber and Cowansburg in Sewickley Township was interrupted before 9 a.m. due to a water break at the intersection of Lowber and Cool Springs roads.

The authority website indicated it hoped to have that line repaired by late afternoon.