Syracuse, NY – Voluntary water conservation has been lifted for Central New York residents after OCWA completed repairs to a water main that burst last month.
The rupture occurred on December 20 and cut off water to 27,000 customers.
The large-diameter pipeline has now been repaired with newly installed replacement sections, OCWA said Thursday evening.
The eastern reservoir, which serves the affected communities, has been refilled to normal levels. Customers can return to normal water use, the agency said.
The voluntary retention request applied to customers in:
- The City of DeWitt, including the Village of East Syracuse and customers of the DeWitt Water System
- City of Manlius, including the villages of Minoa, Fayetteville and Manlius
- The city of Pompeii
- The town of Lenox, including the village of Canastota
- City of Lincoln
- The town of Sullivan, including the village of Chittenango
Since the rupture, residents and businesses have been asked to reduce their water use while the agency diverted water from other systems and pumped as far as Oneida to keep faucets running.
Jeff Brown, OCWA’s executive director, said there is no firm estimate of the total cost of the repairs, but it is expected to be “in the millions.” The agency’s $5 million reserve fund is expected to cover the cost, he said last week.
Spills in the same area have been addressed by OCWA since the summer. A valve from the main transmission line was leaking and was repaired in August. In November, a leak was discovered in the main pipe about 30 feet from the previous repair. Brown previously said the two issues were unrelated.
The November leak was fixed, but two more leaks occurred nearby in December. Temporary fixes failed, prompting the authority to shut down the pipeline on December 20 to complete a more extensive repair.
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