Hempstead restores water in East Meadow neighborhood after main bursts

Water has been restored to nearly two dozen East Meadow homes after a water main burst Thursday afternoon, collapsing part of a street and causing the Town of Hempstead to shut off water.

The water main break was fixed around 2 a.m. Friday, returning water to about 20 homes near Prospect Avenue, plus the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center, said Brian Devine, spokesperson for the Town of Hempstead.

Prospect Avenue between Bellmore Avenue and Garden Lane remained closed in both directions Friday morning as crews continued to repair damage to the street from the break, Nassau County police said.

The cause of the break is still under investigation, but all work on the street is solely due to the break and not the infrastructure, Devine said.

“There's no structural issues with the road, and we're in the middle of patching it up right now,” he said. “The road buckled a little bit where it broke. But that's normal; that’s what happens when a water main breaks.”

He said the street is expected to reopen Friday afternoon.

“In the meantime, our guys worked through the night to get the road redone in time for a great holiday weekend for everyone,” Devine said.

East Meadow Fire Department Chief James Walsh said Thursday the water had not reached any homes on the street, although it had made it to several driveways and front lawns.