Infrastructure Crisis Comes To A Head In Upstate New York

The water infrastructure crisis that is usually hidden behind walls and under sidewalks is coming to a head in upstate New York.

Over the weekend, Erie County, home of Buffalo, had 11 separate water main breaks, according to The Buffalo News.

“These are just routine water breaks; the problem is that there are so many. But these are all unique breaks across the towns and villages,” said Sean Dwyer, a spokesman for the Erie County Water Authority, per the report.

In addition, a broken main led to a widespread water outage in the area last week after a 36-inch pipe ruptured, affecting thousands of customers, according to the Associated Press.

The crisis was so severe that a grocery store near Buffalo began limiting how much water customers could buy, according to WGRZ.

“At the Wegmans supermarket... customers flocked to the bottled water aisle as supermarket workers tried to keep the shelves stocked,” The Buffalo News reported.

Wegman’s lifted its two-pack limit on Friday, announcing that it had delivered 16,000 cases of bottled water to Buffalo Stores over a 24-hour period.

“We are fully stocked with disposable dinnerware, hand sanitizer, and ice, all things we’ve seen an increased demand for,” says Michele Mehaffy, Wegmans Buffalo consumer affairs manager.

Restaurants took special steps to deal with the water outage as well.

“Both Santora's and Pizza Plant on Transit Road brought bottled drinks for customers. Santora's also purchased a bottled water dispenser for its dining room. Both restaurants agreed the water problems take a financial tool. Santora's, for example, closed early [last Wednesday night], sending both customers and staff home,” WGRZ reported.

In the aftermath of the outage, New York Senator Chuck Schumer called on the federal government to help Buffalo improve its water infrastructure.

“If the major water main break in Northern Erie County... wasn’t a wake-up call that our infrastructure is falling apart, then I don’t what is,” he said in a statement. “It is simply unacceptable that in the 21st century, New Yorkers have to boil their water before drinking. New York has some of the oldest sewer and water systems in the country, and our Upstate communities desperately need their water mains upgraded.”

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