Endicott Water Discolored After Huron Line Break

A broken major fire line on the Huron Campus resulted in discolored water for thousands of customers served by the Endicott Water Department.

Eugene Arthur, the chief operator with the department, says the trouble started around 3:45 Sunday afternoon when an alarm alerted employees to a big drop in water pressure.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, Arthur said workers assessed the situation but were unable to determine what had caused the sudden plunge in pressure.

Arthur said the pressure started to rise again within a half-hour but the disruption stirred up the water, leading to discoloration for about a third of the system's customers.

The water department didn't learn what caused the problem until Monday. Arthur said "we were in the dark" because Huron officials had not notified the village about the broken line on their property.

Arthur said he eventually learned that a 12-inch main line on part of Huron's fire protection system burst.

As much as 100,000 gallons of water may have been lost before the supply to the broken line was shut off.

Andrew said he hopes Huron officials will promptly notify the water department of any future problems that may affect the system. He said without knowing what caused the pressure drop, there was nothing department workers could do about the situation on Sunday.