Liberty Water says a water main break in the Baldwin area caused a water outage for around 30,000 customers. It also caused a temporary disruption in water pressure at the Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, according to a hospital representative.
As a result of the break, Nassau County Department of Health has ordered Liberty New York Water to issue a Boil Water Notice to their customers in Baldwin, Island Park, Oceanside, Roosevelt, and South Hempstead.
Affected consumers of Liberty New York Water are strongly advised not to drink the water without boiling it first, the Nassau County DOH said in a statement. Consumers are advised to bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use NYSDOH-certified bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
Liberty Water confirmed to News 12 in a statement that, "At approximately 3 p.m. on Friday, a water main break on the Baldwin/Oceanside border caused a water outage for about 30,000 customers in the Baldwin/Oceanside/Roosevelt/ South Hempstead/Island Park areas. Liberty crews were dispatched immediately and were able to stabilize the leak by 4 p.m. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding during this episode."
Sharon Fox lives next door to where the water main broke in Baldwin.
"It reminded me of Sandy a little bit,” she said. "I had trouble getting across the street to my car. The current was running so hard."
Timothy Byrnes lives a few blocks away in Baldwin.
"The water did come back on, but very slow," Byrnes said.
This wasn't the first water issue this week for Baldwin residents.
"Monday we put the water on and it was like half force coming out,” Byrnes said. “It was very slow."
Liberty Water says the low water pressure issues are not connected to Friday’s water main break.
David Rabinowitz, of Baldwin, says Liberty Water does respond quickly when an issue happens, but says issues happen too often.
"This is probably the fifth water main break or pipe burst in the last 12 years,” he said. "Stop guaranteeing water you can't provide and, you know, just help us out a little bit."
"Nassau County has communicated with South Nassau and we stand ready for any help they may need in order to operate functionally,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a statement.
South Nassau says all patients are safe and there is no impact to patient care during this time.