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Boil Order Lifted After Multiple Water Main Bursts In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A boil water advisory was lifted Saturday at Hoboken, after multiple mains and bursts over two days sent water spewing.

The advisory was issued Friday. Since Thursday, there have been seven main or pipe bursts.

The latest leak occurred Saturday on Jefferson Street between 8th and 9th streets in Hoboken, 1010 WINS reported. Another leak was reported Friday in a pipe connected to a house on Park Avenue and 13th Street.

The first 30-inch water main at Willow and 14th Avenue burst Thursday. Another also burst at Willow and Eighth Avenue and submerged cars.

United Water officials said they suspect the subsequent leak Friday was connected to Thursday's incidents.

Crews had to shut off 14 valves while making repairs and said that could have triggered what's known as a "hammer effect," leading to Friday's leak.

"You open and close valves maybe one or two times too many and the pressure changes too frequently and that could have caused the break," United Water spokesman Edmund DeVeaux said.

United Water's emergency team collected system-wide water quality samples early Friday afternoon in response to Thursday's second water main break.

United's water quality specialists were conducting lab tests to ensure the quality of the water. They said results would not be available until sometime Saturday and must be reported to and verified by the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection.

"We understand that this main break has been a major inconvenience for residents of Hoboken," said Tom Neilan, director of operations for United Water. "We worked swiftly yesterday to restore full system pressure back to residents, to complete the repair to the water main this morning, and now we are concentrating on ensuring the quality of the water in the system."

Within two hours of Friday morning's leak, pavement around the valve began buckling, fueling fears of another sinkhole like the one caused by the first water main break which happened around 3 a.m. Thursday at 8th and Willow.

After the 12-inch pipe burst, it created a sinkhole that nearly swallowed a car and sent water, mud and muck gushing into the basements of row homes.

United Water officials blamed the first main break on aging infrastructure. Hours later, the 30-inch main was broken by a construction crew at 14th Street and Willow Avenue.

In the meantime, the city's mayor, Dawn Zimmer, said she planned to meet with United Water on Monday to make sure a plan is in place to prevent future water main breaks at construction sites, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported.

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