Pleasantdale School Briefly Loses Water

Students at had to take an unexpected trip to the high school if they needed to use the bathrooms Friday morning after the school temporarily lost water.

Principal Joanne Pollara said Pleasantdale briefly lost water just as school started but by 10 a.m. the issue had been resolved. 

Robert Csigi, Director of Building and Grounds with the West Orange Board of Education, said the school reported low water pressure Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m. Csigi said he called New Jersey American Water believing the problem was caused by a water main break.

But by Friday morning, the school had lost water.

"It wasn't a water main break, it was our problem," he said. Csigi and his staff spent the morning locating and addressing the problem — the pipes were clogged with rust sediment.

Within the hour, the pipes were cleaned out, "The kids were in no danger and this is unlikely to happen again," Csigi assured.

Pollara said students that needed to use the bathrooms were escorted across Pleasant Valley Way to the high school by faculty members and police officers that were called in for the students' safety.

A school messenger alert was also sent to parents to inform them of the incident.

"Fortunately, it didn't last that long," Pollara told Patch. "It could have been a lot worse."