A water main break along Freeport Road in New Kensington left many in the area with low water pressure for part of Tuesday.

The main break occurred directly adjacent to the New Kensington Municipal Authority’s reservoirs. General Manager Ed Saliba said Tuesday afternoon that workers were still investigating the cause of the break, which happened around 9:30 a.m.

Saliba said that the water pumps resumed operations at 1:20 p.m.

“There was a break in a 12(-inch)” main distribution line leaving the booster station on Freeport Road,” Saliba said. “We had to take time in shutting it down to prevent any additional problems.”

“Once the water was shut off, we dug up the line and accessed what had happened. At that time, we were able to get the booster station back in service and restore that part of the system.”

Many in elevated areas of New Kensington, Lower Burrell and other surrounding municipalities may have experienced low water pressure as a result, Saliba said.

The process to remedy the break was to deliberately slow the water flow to avoid causing further damage to the water system, he said.

Nearby Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School dismissed students early as a result of the main break. Dismissals began just before 11 a.m., and students continued to leave the site about an hour later.

The school’s other location near Mount Saint Peter Roman Catholic Church in New Kensington remained in session.

New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefchek said his district hadn’t been affected by the main break, and schools would remain in session.

Burrell School District also confirmed it hadn’t been affected by the incident.

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