Feb 9, 2026 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

A broken 48-inch water line in Elrama did a catastrophic amount of damage to some of the homes in its path, according to a Union Township supervisor.

Michalle Dupree, chair of the township supervisors, said she’s heard that there are some on Elrama Avenue “with six feet of water in their basement, living on the upper floor with a space heater, knowing there’s no water in the fire hydrant.”

“There’s a lot of elderly people in Elrama,” she said, “and some of them could lose their houses.”

The break, reported around 11:30 p.m. Friday, occurred near Elrama Volunteer Fire Company, which also sustained significant damage from the flood of water released from the broken line. On Saturday, fire Chief Matt Salim said the department’s garage had about four feet of water, and its social hall also started to flood.

It took nearly an hour to shut the water off because of the volume of water in the line, Salim said.

On Monday, Assistant Fire Chief Joe Turcin said the station remained closed as department personnel waited for an engineer to come and assess the damage.

The department has a fire truck at a substation on Finleyville Elrama Road, Turcin said. Other nearby departments are also on standby to help should there be a fire or other emergency, he said.

Many of the department’s vehicles have been relocated to the Union Township Municipal Building, said Dupree. Township salt trucks have been moved so that ambulances can be stored, and extra bays in the township garage are housing other department vehicles, she said.

About 95,000 Pennsylvania American Water customers in Washington and Allegheny counties were under a boil water advisory until Monday morning due to the break. The advisory was lifted after water samples taken Saturday and Sunday were negative for bacterial contamination.

The line broke after a brief power surge on Friday created an interruption of pumpage at Pennsylvania American Water distribution system. That caused the 48-inch water main to break near a water storage tank in Elrama, according to Brent Robinson, Pennsylvania American Water external affairs manager.

Customers in 30 municipalities in Washington County and 14 in Allegheny County were affected.

Crews from the water company are repairing the break and cleaning up the area, said Robinson.

Dupree said a sewer line is on Elrama Avenue, prompting concerns that it would break. While that didn’t occur, she said the township’s road crew has been inspecting the lines for any debris.

She expected the water lines would be flushed today. That couldn’t take place before due to the cold weather.

Over the weekend, township officials checked on the residents of Elrama and brought in bottled water to help those under the advisory.

“When people stop by, we ask if there are any elderly people that can’t get out. We’ve gone door to door looking for people who are in need,” she said. “There’s a lot of hurting people down there.”