A ten-inch water main six feet below this work trailer inside the Red Bank Department of Public Utilities facility ruptured. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A water main break at Red Bank’s water treatment facility on Chestnut Street caused localized flooding, road closures, low water pressure in homes and businesses, and a gush of regret from the man charged with fixing it that he ever got out of bed Friday morning.
A fire hydrant a block away from the water main break at Chestnut Street and West Street was opened to relieve pressure on the water main so crews could repair it. (photo by Brian Donohue)
Chestnut Street was closed between West Street and Maple Avenue as a result of the break. Chestnut Street was also closed at West Street, where a hydrant was opened to relieve pressure on the line so repairs could be done, partially flooding the road.
An alert was sent out at 10:51 a.m. via the Borough’s emergency alert system warning residents of the road closure between Pearl and Maple due to the water main break.
The break occurred in a ten-inch main that runs six feet underground inside the Department of Public Utilities yard on Chestnut Street.
The borough’s main water treatment facility, as well as the well from which water is drawn six months of the year sit inside the facility.
Borough contractor Mark Woszczak, whose crews were on the scene to repair the break, said he hoped it could be repaired by the end of the day, but he was unsure. The water main feeds water to about half the town, he said. Several residents and businesses reported very low water pressure. 
Mark Woszczak putting in the work for a repeat of the Golden Plunger Award.
The cause of the break was not known.
It marked the second time this year Mark Woszczak General Contractors were called to repair an emergency gusher. In July, crews were called to repair a sewer main under the NJ Transit parking that was ruptured by contractors doing site work for a planned redevelopment of the area.
In appreciation for his work that day – as well as a two-decade record of repairing Red Bank’s aging infrastructure, Woszczak was awarded the “Golden Plunger” and crowned Red Bank’s “Dirty Jobs King” by Borough Manager Jim Gant and the Borough Council in August. 
As he took a brief respite from supervising the crews using a jackhammer to break through the asphalt on Chestnut Street, Friday, though such joys and glories seemed distant.
“I wish I didn’t wake up today,” he said.
Also last year, the Borough Council approved a series of water rate hikes they said necessary to cover rising costs, as well as fund a new ten-year capital plan to pay for repairs and upgrades to the town’s aging system.
And in November, the Borough hired two firms to begin the long-planned process of rebuilding the DPU headquarters at 75 Chestnut Street, long described as substandard and decrepit. The council approved a $29,900 contract with Collier Engineering and Design to do topographic and site evaluation work and a $30,000 contract with Netta Architects to begin developing plans for the expansion/reconstruction.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
