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Blame it on the heat, or the water main break that disrupted service this week to thousands of West Side residents, but we can’t stop thinking about H2O.

Among the thoughts bubbling to the surface:

Why are Wyoming Valley communities reliant today on water pipes built before 1900?

A ruptured pipe in Kingston temporarily inconvenienced an estimated 6,600 Pennsylvania American Water customers on Tuesday, compelling the Luzerne County Courthouse and several businesses to close, while the county jail and certain restaurants improvised to remain up and running. For some customers, the trouble persisted into Wednesday.

Fault lies, in part, with a cast iron pipe that water company officials said was built in 1889.

That’s 126 years ago. In 1889 Luzerne County residents were coping with outbreaks of typhoid fever and smallpox. That year, according to the Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac, the first Lehigh Valley train heated by steam passed through Wilkes-Barre, certain city dwellers objected to asphalt on South Franklin Street and the Osterhout Free Library formally opened with an address by Melvin Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system for classifying books.

Dewey, steam-heated trains and smallpox are long gone. Yet portions of our area’s water distribution system, as is true elsewhere across the nation, remain antiquated and fragile – a fact painfully evident to employees at Pennsylvania American Water’s parent company. “A major water main breaks every two minutes in the United States,” according to American Water’s presentation to institutional investors last month. It plans to spend $6 billion over the next five years to “improve infrastructure” as well as increase its “water and wastewater customer base.”

About 28 percent of the American Water system’s pipes in its multistate service area are 70 years or older, according to the company’s tally. A fraction of those – about 4 percent – top the century mark. (Gulp.)

Could we cope with a longer-lasting disruption?

For a short while, we could quench our thirst with a trip to the store for bottled water or agua made available to the community via strategically placed tanks, known as water buffaloes. A damp wash cloth sufficed as a “shower.” Brushing of the teeth was manageable.

But what if the dry spell persisted? Could we conserve on par with our compatriots in California and other western states gripped by drought? What if our region’s water supplies were contaminated by a nefarious act or accidental spill? Are we prepared?

How great are “good neighbors?”

During the water stoppage, certain people looked out for the welfare of others by performing wellness checks, delivering water and ensuring the availability of portable toilets. Our appreciation goes to all who helped.

It seems the Wyoming Valley’s community spirit, unlike its spigots, can be counted on to never run dry.

A ruptured pipe in Kingston temporarily inconvenienced an estimated 6,600 Pennsylvania American Water customers on Tuesday. (Clark Van Orden | Times Leader)
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WaterBreak.jpg.optimal.jpgA ruptured pipe in Kingston temporarily inconvenienced an estimated 6,600 Pennsylvania American Water customers on Tuesday. (Clark Van Orden | Times Leader)