Follow-up: Water main break closes Route 35, impacts Yorktown water pressure

As the YWD was onsite only to assist the NWJWW with the physical repair of their water main, we did not see property damage first hand. Residents next to the break did tell us of property damage and/or water damage within their homes. We did see Somers Fire Department staff at the affected properties speaking with homeowners. ”

—Jeffrey Dahlke, assistant distribution superintendent for the Yorktown Water District

Updated on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

A water main break Friday night disrupted water service for some Yorktown residents and closed a portion of Route 35 before crews completed repairs early Saturday.

According to Jeffrey Dahlke, assistant distribution superintendent for the Yorktown Water District, the Yorktown Police Department began receiving calls at approximately 11:20 p.m. July 31 regarding discolored water and low water pressure, prompting officials to investigate a potential break on a major transmission main.

“It was safe to assume that there was a break on a large main, possibly a transmission from one of the Northern Westchester Joint Water Works water treatment plants,” Dahlke said in an email to Yorktown News.

The break was located on a 16-inch cast-iron water transmission main owned by the Northern Westchester Joint Water Works (NWJWW) near the Amawalk Filter Treatment Plant in Somers. The main supplies water to Yorktown and includes a connection serving Somers, according to Dahlke.

Because the damaged line is a transmission main, the impact was felt across the Yorktown water system rather than in a single neighborhood, according to NWJWW Operations Director Matthew Geho. Water pressure dropped systemwide, and residents at higher elevations may have experienced low or no water pressure until crews isolated the break. 

"This was a transmission line that broke, so this had  more of a system wide impact on pressure.  No one neighborhood was without water, rather the entire system had lower than normal pressure which may have resulted in residents in higher elevations have low to no water," Geho told Yorktown News in an email. "This would have been restored once break was isolated."

Yorktown Supervisor Ed Lachterman assisted in locating the break, according to Dahlke, and the Yorktown Water District provided repair assistance through a mutual aid agreement among NWJWW member districts. Yorktown Highway Department equipment operators also assisted, while the towns of Cortlandt and Somers provided additional support.

“If our guys did not get there they probably would’ve spent as much money as they’ll be paying us for lost water,” Lachterman told Yorktown News in a text message on Aug. 1. “But Yorktown Water Department did a phenomenal job in getting this taken care of so quickly.”

The damaged section of the main was isolated between the Amawalk Filter Treatment Plant and the Route 35 intersection with Route 118, leaving about 15 homes in the immediate repair area. Once the break was isolated, full water pressure returned to affected Yorktown customers, according to Dahlke.

“A 60-inch length damaged cast-iron pipe was removed and replaced with a similar length of ductile iron water main. The water main was flushed,” Dahlke said. “Normal Westchester County Department of Health water sampling procedures were carried out.”

Route 35 reopened to traffic at approximately 7 a.m. Aug. 1. Dahlke said the repair process, from shutting down the damaged main to replacing the pipe and reopening the roadway, took about six hours.

Yorktown Water District crews continued flushing fire hydrants in areas where residents reported discolored water or air in their water lines.

Although some Yorktown residents experienced low water pressure and discolored water, the break occurred on an NWJWW water main in Somers. Dahlke said NWJWW will handle questions regarding water loss, insurance matters and potential property damage.

“As the YWD was onsite only to assist the NWJWW with the physical repair of their water main, we did not see property damage first hand,” Dahlke said. “Residents next to the break did tell us of property damage and/or water damage within their homes. We did see Somers Fire Department staff at the affected properties speaking with homeowners.”

Based on the location of the break, Geho said no Yorktown properties are believed to have sustained damage, though a more extensive investigation is forthcoming.

Geho also confirmed to Yorktown News early Sunday that the Yorktown Water District will invoice NWJWW for the time and materials associated with the repair and it will process the invoice and reimburse the department.