Water Main Break Causes Basement Flooding in Middletown

A water main break forced crews to shut off water service to about a dozen homes on Miner Street in Middletown Tuesday, and at least one homeowner in the area reported flooding in her basement.

Police said crews were called to Miner Street near Smith Street around 2 a.m. for a water main break and crews found water flooding the ground, about a foot high.

Crews had some trouble shutting off the water because the gates were underwater and they are working to make repairs. About a dozen homes were affected by the shutoff.

Shortly after 3 p.m., all repairs were done and the roads were reopened, Middletown Police reported. 

The water main is about 50 years old. Middletown Field Maintenance Manager Tom Tetrault said they are not yet sure what caused the break, but weather usually plays a role.

“You’ve got the cold weather, so you got the heaving and everything and we’re currently doing a flushing system also. That could have some impact on this,” Tetrault said.

Tetrault added that because of the mild winter, Middletown hasn’t suffered many water main breaks this year.

One homeowner told NBC Connecticut she had two inches of standing water in her basement Tuesday morning.

Heather Iaderosa said a police officer came to her door around 2:15 a.m. and warned her to move her family’s cars to higher ground.

“The water was coming in from the street, from down the road, it came right in to our front yard, down our driveway,” Iaderosa said.

The family tried to make a dam to keep the water at bay, but it flooded into the basement. Area firefighters came in and pumped the water out.

For some, the morning’s events were just an inconvenience.

“We’re packing our toothbrush with us to go to the breakfast place,” said Barbara Erlendson, who woke up without water.

“We need to not take water and power and the things that we enjoy every day for granted. We need to be more prepared,” she added.

As of 10 a.m. officials anticipated that the water would be turned back on around noon.

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