AMBRIDGE, Pa. — An early morning water main break at the Ambridge Water Authority led to a widespread outage in Ambridge and Harmony Township on Thursday.
The Ambridge Fire Department set up a water buffalo tank inside the station to fill up buckets for flushing, while also handing out cases of drinking water.
Kat Ortiz was among the hundreds of people lined up for water after waking up to dry faucets.
“Not anything trickling or anything,” she said. “I woke up with a bunch of texts from neighbors like, ‘Do you have water? Do you have water?’”
Gary Kmit also did not have running water.
“First thing that came to my mind is we have to have some water to drink, so I shot down to the Walmart and waited in the parking lot for about 10 minutes. I went in and got about 15 gallons of water and now I’m down here,” he said.
Those who still have running water are being instructed to boil it before using it.
It’s unclear how long families will be without fresh water.
“The most important thing is we work together,” said Kmit. “If we work together, like we’re supposed to, then we’ll get through this.”
Ambridge schools were closed for in-person learning Thursday. It’s unclear if students will be able to return to school Friday.