SCRANTON -- Talk about bad timing. Monday turned out to be one of the hottest days this summer, but a water park in Lackawanna County had to close due to a water main break.
The still blue waters in the wave pool at Montage Mountain Water Park in Scranton sure looked inviting on a day when temperatures crept toward 90. But there was a reason why the wave pool waters were so still.
A broken valve on a water main less than a mile down the mountain cut off water to the water park.
With no working bathrooms and with no water for the water slides, officials at Montage were forced to close the park. It ruined the perfect summer day Elwood Boone had planned for his granddaughter visiting from Georgia.
"We did drive an hour to be here today and we left early just so we could be here and beat the crowds because everything we've seen on reviews is the place gets crowded on hot days like today," Boone, of Berwick, told Newswatch 16.
Even though the broken water valve on the corner of Montage Mountain Road and Glenmaura National Boulevard is in between a business park and a development of homes, Pennsylvania American Water said the only customer affected was the water park.
Montage employees felt just as unlucky as their would-be guests. They were willing to argue that they were more disappointed, too. This would have been one of their biggest days of the year.
"Usually it's a few thousand, especially on a good day like this. We usually pack the park. We're definitely disappointed, I know the families are, but we are even more disappointed we couldn't have them today. We will make up for it soon," said Montage spokesperson Christina Galdieri.
Pennsylvania American Water fixed the broken valve by Monday evening. Montage Mountain Water Park expects to reopen Tuesday morning.