Hoboken Residents Exasperated Over Ongoing Water Troubles

“I’ve had the morning from hell.”

“I’m late for work because I had to take a shower with water bottles.”

Those are the feelings expressed by many in Hoboken today, as the town struggles with the water main break that started Sunday. Work to repair the broken valve Monday night was “unsuccessful,” according to reports, and Mayor Dawn Zimmer warned the water issues may continue through the Thanksgiving holiday.

“It’s been really, really difficult,” says Martin Avila, 48, who lives in El Grande, a luxury apartment building at the corner of Jackson and Observer Highway. “It’s impossible to do Thanksgiving here. I’m going to Long Island.”

“I’ve had the morning from hell,” said a young woman named Jay as she struggled to move a heavy box into her office building off Observer Highway. Observer Highway and Newark was flooded Tuesday morning with water five feet deep in some spots, as water gushed out of a nearby valve and SUEZ Water crews furiously worked nearby. Observer and Newark is the main artery in and out of Hoboken.

“We can’t get any packages delivered because of this, and my computer shut down. Meanwhile we’ve got clients screaming at us,” said Jay, clearly exasperated. She didn’t want to give her last name because her employer didn’t authorize her to speak to the media.

Many Hoboken residents report low water pressure, especially on the upper floors of high-rise buildings. The water is discolored, and a boil water advisory remains in effect from SUEZ Water. Residents are told not to ingest the water without boiling it first.

“My neighbor has had to take showers at her office in Manhattan,” said Avila. “And another woman down the hall has a newborn and she had to take the baby to her mother’s in Pennsylvania. It’s just been too hard.”

“It’s been like camping — we buy bottled water and pour that on top of our toothbrushes,” said Ben Baumbach, 34, with his newborn baby girl near his apartment on Jackson Street. “It’s been harder with the baby, because we have to buy a lot of water to bathe her.”

In fact, as residents stock up on water, some report price gauging for bottled water.

“The CVS on Washington Street has been all sold out, and a store at Third and Jackson charged us $3 a gallon. So I paid $6 for two gallons of water yesterday,” said Stacy Sweeney, who works at a daycare off Jackson Street. “We need the water for the kids.”

Flooded Observer Highway and surrounding streets remain shut down Tuesday as water gushes into the roadway. Already this morning there was about three feet of water on the road, causing sinkholes some as deep as five feet.

Pictured: Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer observes the flooding on Observer Highway at Newark Street Tuesday morning. Carly Baldwin/Patch