South Orange Middle School students got an unexpected three-day weekend when a water main break Friday morning shut down the school for the day.
SOMS water main break Jan. 8 2016
An email sent to the SOMS community at 6:40 a.m. said the school would be closed “due to a water main break on Ridgewood Road. All other SOMSD schools will remain open, as originally scheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you and your family have a good weekend.”
East Orange Water Commission employees were seen working on the leak, directly in front of the building, in the early afternoon. An employee said the break was in the line going directly into the school and that no other residences or businesses were affected.
Asked about the cause of the break, the EOWC employee said it was likely due to to a combination of the aging piping and the cold weather, which had caused the pipe to crack.
The break is nearly repaired and school is expected to be open as usual on Monday morning.
