SCRANTON, Pa. — UPDATE:
As of 7 a.m. on Thursday, Pennsylvania American Water says that the repairs on the breaks have been finished.
Original story:
Crews are fixing a water main break that affects hundreds of homes and businesses in Scranton.
The break in the 12-inch main happened around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on Hollow Avenue, near Interstate 81 and the North Scranton Expressway.
Pennsylvania American Water officials say about 500 homes and businesses are affected.
Newswatch 16 found signs on doors of many businesses along Business Route 6 between the area of the Viewmont Mall in Dickson City all the way up to the Blakely area.
This has been a hard year for many businesses during the pandemic, and business owners hope things will be fixed soon.
"We have to be closed for the day. We have no water to make pizza dough or even wash our hands, the most important thing," said Joe Kotowski at Cangiano's.
"Once they turn it back on, we have to flush everything through. Our machines are all filtered, so you have to take all the filters out, flush it down, put the filters in," explained Dwayne Florey at Florey & Holloway Cleaners.
No water meant nothing could be washed and cleaned at Florey & Holloway Cleaners.
"We're based on water. We're green cleaners, so we can't wash anything. We're all backed up and that. We have to apologize to our customers and tell them they will be a day or two."
The water main break was even more inconvenient for people who live on this dead-end street who don't know when they'll be able to get out next.
"I have to go somewhere, and I have somebody picking me up, so I have to walk out that way to meet them. But I have to go, so I just do what I have to do," Patrick Kerrigan said.
"I had to call off work," Liam Jones said. "My sister didn't go to school today, so it basically just ruined our day, just because of how inconvenient it is."