Saturday, August 04, 2007
HARRINGTON PARK, N.J. —
Repairs restored full electrical service Saturday to a water plant that serves more than 800,000 people, after lightning damage shut it down and left people with little or no running water, authorities said.Even with power back on, United Water New Jersey was still instructing some residents to boil water before consuming it and let stand an order not to use water for nonessential reasons.
"It takes time for the water in the system to build up to appropriate storage and pressure levels," said Jim Glozzy, vice president and general manager of United Water New Jersey.
One lightning bolt struck just outside the plant Friday night, followed by a direct hit around midnight that cut power to the plant, in Haworth, and even hobbled its backup generators, according to the Harrington Park-based utility.
Residents typically use 150 million to 160 million gallons of water per day.
Haworth is about 20 miles northwest of New York City.
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