UPDATE at 10:10 a.m.: According to Pennsylvania American Water, the 30-inch main that broke in Kingston dates back to 1889. So far, the water company has no estimate for when repairs will be completed.
The water company says Kingston, Edwardsville, and parts of Luzerne are affected.
Starting at noon, water tankers will be set up at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville and at the Kingston DPW building on Third Avenue. A tanker will also be located at the intersection of Walnut Street and Wyoming Avenue, and the Luzerne Shopping Center.
Customers should bring their own containers.
Check out our LiveBlog for the latest information on the water main break.
KINGSTON -- A case of bad luck and bad timing in Luzerne County after a water main breaks on what could be one of the hottest days in the summer.
Residents first noticed the break a little before 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania American Water said the 30-inch water main break affects homes and businesses in Kingston and Luzerne, as well as Pringle, Forty Fort and Swoyersville.
Water gushed out of the ground at West Walnut and Mercer Avenue in Kingston causing the pavement to buckle by the force of the flow.
The break in the water main brought out an early morning crowd. A woman who lived in the neighborhood told Newswatch 16 the break suddenly appeared.
"There was nothing to see in the street, you know what I mean?" asked Cheryl Souders of Kingston. "Then we heard a boom and came out to see what was going on and this. This. It's like, oh man."
The 'this' Souders was referring to, was thousands of gallons of water bubbling up through the pavement causing a river in the street.
"I've seen it in another town I've lived in, but not this bad. I used to live in Jim Thorpe and I moved up here. I came home, it was nothing, and now this," added Souders.
The water is also affecting traffic. Parts of West Walnut and Mercer are closed, and will likely stay closed until the water main is fixed. Police and firefighters are detouring people away from the scene.
Pennsylvania American Water has been spotted in the area, checking valves and fire hydrants to see how wide of an area was affected by the break. They hope that once the break is isolated, service will be restored in some areas.
Fixing the water main is only part of the problem, once the main is fixed the pavement will need to be repaired as well.
The force of the flow buckled the pavement and eroded the earth beneath it, so much that even a Pennsylvania American Water company truck broke through, its front wheel falling into a hole. The driver was able to back out.
What happened here meant a dry morning for much of the west side of the Wyoming Valley.
That includes Dan Flood Tower, a 200-unit apartment building for the elderly along Wyoming Avenue in Kingston.
Help arrived just before 10 a.m. -- a truckload of bottled water, a hot weather necessity residents were grateful to have.
"We woke up to no water, but thank God we're fine now. We got a bottle of water," said resident Peg Dubraskas.
State Representative Aaron Kaufer, (R -120th District) arranged the delivery. Kaufer represents this part of the Wyoming Valley, and he's also a water main break victim.
"I think people are just happy to know they have water. You don't realize you need it until you don't have it," said Rep. Kaufer.
Kaufer is also working to get bottled water to other apartments for seniors in the area.
The water main break is more than a nuisance, more than an inconvenience; it's also a danger, a threat to people and property.
Fire hydrants don't work. Kingston Fire Chief Frank Guido came to the break scene, and tells us they can still handle emergencies.
"We're set up with the county to dispatch the tanker task force to all reported structure fires," Chief Guido explained.
Tanker trucks from a wide area will bring the water the hydrants can't supply.
The water main break could be an emergency of the financial kind for the Sweet Treat Restaurant, along Wyoming Avenue in Kingston. It has a trickle of water, and it's business as usual.
"The phone is ringing a lot," said Jim Greer. "(Asking) 'are you open? Do you have coffee? Do you have water?'"
Greer says if he totally loses water, his doors close.
So what do you do without water? Nancy Cooper's plan is to get out of town.
"It's been challenging without water. Turn the tap on. Nothing. We'll be leaving soon to go to my daughter's house (in Yatesville.)"
Cooper said she got through the morning using some bottled water she was lucky to have on hand.
