Murrysville mobile home park residents' water service restored

Residents of the Holiday Hills mobile home park in Murrysville are cautiously optimistic after regular water service was restored.

Renters in the park, off Logans Ferry Road, have dealt with inconsistent water pressure — and frequently no water at all — since late January. The private water line that supplies the park runs about 1,800 feet uphill from its connection to Plum Borough Municipal Authority lines near the Sampson Family YMCA, despite the park being located in Murrysville.

Residents had been without consistent running water for nearly 45 days when a work crew replacing the old water line accidentally struck a Peoples Gas Line in early March.

On March 5, property managers Carlson & Associates told park residents in an email that water service would be restored early the following week.

That did not happen, but park resident Beth Taylor said on March 20 that regular water service and pressure from her faucets had been restored.

That lasted a little more than 48 hours.

“Well, that was short-lived,” Taylor said in an email to TribLive, after she woke up on Sunday , once again without any running water.

In a Sunday email to park residents, Carlson employee Luke O’Brien said overnight temperatures dipped below freezing, causing the above-ground temporary water line to freeze and again cut off the water supply. The National Weather Service recorded a low of 31 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport in the late hours of Saturday .

Throughout the process, O’Brien’s communication with residents has regularly cited the need for Plum to upgrade its water infrastructure among the reasons a fix was taking so long.

“If all goes according to plan, we should not have any more outages until the city completes their work and we can officially hook up to the new upgraded system,” O’Brien told residents in an email sent on March 23.

Plum Borough Municipal Authority Field Supervisor Mike DiGuilio said he doesn’t know what O’Brien is referring to.

“I don’t know of any problems on the city side,” DiGuilio said. “The county inspected on (March 22) down by the YMCA after inspecting (at the park) in Murrysville. The plumber told me they’re supposed to have it hooked up on Monday (March 24).”

On Tuesday morning, park resident Ashley Wilborn said most of the residents she’s spoken with now have water coming from their faucets.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m not going to get rid of the water we have stocked up,” Wilborn said, referring to cases of bottled water given to residents by the Westmoreland Food Bank.

“I’m kind of holding my breath,” she said.