The City of New Bern announced via Facebook that Water Resources crews are responding to two issues – low water pressure caused by a broken water main and a damaged fire hydrant.
Timeline of events, according to the social media post
2:45 p.m.: Water Resources crews have been dispatched to areas of Pembroke and Olde Towne where customers are reporting low water pressure. Crews are working to identify the problem and issue a repair timeline. We will keep you posted. Thank you to everyone who has called to let us know about this – we’re out there now to figure it out!
3:20 p.m.: “Crews have found the problem – a broken, 12″ water main near the Country Club Road overpass at Highway 70. Crews are mobilizing equipment now to excavate down to the pipe to determine the extent of the damage which will help them establish a timeline for repair. Heads up: when the repair is underway, water service will be cut off entirely to the surrounding area.
4:10 p.m.: Within the next hour, water will be cut off to areas of Pembroke, Olde Towne, Tram Road, and Batts Hill in order to repair the 12″ water main.
4:30 p.m.: Just spoke to one of our staff who shared that there are actually two problems going on at once. Someone ran over a fire hydrant on Spencer Avenue which was spraying water everywhere, causing some the low water pressure issues there. That’s been fixed. Crews are cutting off water now to the other folks near Country Club to get down to the broken water main and begin the repair. The pipe is 4-5′ deep underground, covered by tree roots and vegetation but they’re working as safely and diligently as they can. Once they can lay eyes on what they’re dealing with, they’ll be able to let us know more about the timeline for repair.
5:52 p.m.: System Pressure Advisory (below) issued for water consumers in Pembroke, Olde Towne, Hidden Harbour, Towne Woods, and along Country Club Road from Highway 70 to Batts Hill Road.
“The water consumers of the City of New Bern in Craven County, located in Pembroke, Olde Towne, Hidden Harbour, Towne Woods and along Country Club Road from Highway 70 to Batts Hill Road, will experience periods of low pressure and outages in the distribution system due to a break on the water main that serves this area. Periods of low or no pressure in the distribution system increase the potential for back siphonage and introduction of bacteria into the water system.
Therefore, the Division of Water Resources advises that when water is restored consumers boil all water used for human consumption including drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation, or use bottled water.
Vigorous boiling for one minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water.
This office is strongly urging the water consumers to conserve water whenever possible. This advisory will remain in effect until further written notification is issued. This advisory is effective August 25, 2026 at 4 p.m.”
6:37 p.m. Crews have excavated down to the water main and found an 8-foot section that has completely deteriorated. They will probably have to replace a 12-foot section of pipe. This will take some time to cut out and remove (it’s cast iron). They *hope* to have the pipe replaced and to begin restoring water to impacted customers around 8 p.m.
Visit the city’s website for more information.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.