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Numerous water line breaks keeping ECWA busy

Crews from the Erie County Water Authority have had their hands full since last week's break along a major line that affected up to a quarter million customers. Since then, they've addressed a half-dozen other breaks, including the latest early Monday afternoon in Amherst, not far from last week's bigger burst.

The latest water main break was to a six-inch line on Sheridan Drive at Sunrise, not far from the Youngmann Expressway. Upon fixing that break, traffic was reopened to Sheridan Drive.

  

In the meantime, ECWA crews were also fixing other water line breaks, another one in Amherst, one in Orchard Park, two in Cheektowaga and one in Hamburg. 

Those were just some of the many more breaks that kept crews busy over the weekend. Eleven separate breaks occurred on Sunday alone. 

In the City of Buffalo, meanwhile, an estimated 70 customers were affected by an early morning water main break on Abbott in front of Mercy Hospital. 

"What we found there was a 16-inch water main that was broken," said City of Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak. "At no time was the hospital out of water pressure."

As for the suburban breaks, an ECWA official - who advised WBFO he was unauthorized to speak on the air - said that the recent heat and drought have increased demand for water, and the additional pressure has triggered the breaks. 

When asked when an ECWA official might be available to speak for broadcast, we were advised no timetable has been set.

Michael Mroziak is an experienced, award-winning reporter whose career includes work in broadcast and print media. When he joined the WBFO news staff in April 2015, it was a return to both the radio station and to Horizons Plaza.
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