Targeted Water Boil Alert Issued For At Least 4 Days After Water Main Is Repaired By City Of Beacon

A targeted Boil Water Advisory has been issued for at least 4 days by the City of Beacon for businesses and residents “along Fishkill Avenue from Conklin Street to the Town of Fishkill border, including all side streets,” according to the City’s Facebook announcement. After issuing updates via social media during the day, the City announced that they have completed the emergency repairs, and that water service is fully restored. “We also are grateful to our Water Dept which went above and beyond today to address this emergency,” they said.

While they have been advising people who experience brown water coming out of their faucets to run cold taps until water runs clear, they have issued a Boil Water Advisory for specific streets.

According to the Boil Water Advisory, the water main break happened at 9:30am on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. “The water system lost pressure due to significant water main break on 10 inch water,” the document said. Beacon’s City Administrator told the Highland Current that the pipes were not those of the new infrastructure work conducted in the major upgrade at Fishkill/Teller Avenue over the past year in that area, but was due to an old pipe breaking. Also at that time, he said that the water was “safe to use.

Beacon City Schools will resume classes tomorrow Thursday. Dr. Landahl robo called/texted/emailed district families to let them know that students can return, and thanked the Transportation Department for making scheduling changes during the day, the Administration Department offices for fielding phone calls, and the Facilities Department for checking on the buildings this evening.

Boil Water Notice Issued

At 7pm, the City of Beacon posted their Water Boil Notice, which advises people on those streets mentioned to boil their water for at least 4 days and 12 hours. It is posted below, and typed out in full for people to read.

BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

Bring tap water to a rolling boil, boil for one minute, and cool before using. Or use bottled water certified for sale by the New York State Department of Health. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and preparing food until further notice.

This Boil Water Notice applies to Fihkill Avenue from Conklin Street to the City border at Prospect Street including Meade Avenue, Desoto and State Street.

What Happened?

At about 9:30am on January 2026, the water system lost pressure due to significant water main break on 10 inch water. When water mains lose pressure it increases the chance that untreated water and harmful microbes can enter your water.

Harmful microbes in drinking water can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms and may pose a special health risk for infants, some elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems. But these symptoms are not just caused by microbes in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you should seek medical advice.

What Is Being Done?

City of Beacon personnel installed a new section of water main and a contractor installed additional valving to assist with the isolation. City of Beacon Operators will be conducing bacterial sampling of the water for safety.

It is likely that you will need to boil water for the next 4 days 12 hours until the problem is fixed. You will be informed when tests show that you no longer need to boil your water.

For more information, please contact Edward Balicki of the city of Beacon at 845-831-3136 or the Dutchess County Department of Health at 845-486-3404.

Please share this information with other people who drink this water especially anyone who may not get this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

State Water System ID: NY 1302760
Date Distributed: January 7. 2026

UPDATE: City Says Water Main Replaced; Service May Be Restored By Evening Pending No Additional Break

The City of Beacon has begun issuing updates to the water main break repair:

“UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): City crews have completed the replacement of the water main segment that experienced the break, which has caused low pressure or loss of water across much of the City. Crews are slowly re-pressurizing the water lines, and we hope to have water restored in the next hour or two absent some additional break.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and will issue further updates on this page and our website as additional information is available. If you're experiencing discoloration of your water, please run the cold water until the water runs clear.”

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“UPDATE (4:00pm): City crews have made progress in replacing the water main that experienced the break, which has caused low pressure or loss of water across much of the City. We are hopeful that water service will be restored late this evening, but there is still a lot of work to do. We apologize for the inconvenience and will issue further updates on this page and our website as additional information is available.

“NOTICE: Water service along parts of Fishkill Avenue, from Conklin Street towards the Town of Fishkill, will experience disruption today due to continued work in repairing a water main break. We apologize for the inconvenience and will work to restore service as soon as possible.

“Once water is available again, run cold taps until water runs clear. Thank you for your patience while this emergency repair work is completed.”

Water Main Break Off Rte 52 Causes Low Pressure As Beacon Water Department Repairs; School Issues Emergency Early Dismissal; Businesses Impacted

Updates from the City of Beacon are available in this next article here.

The City of Beacon is currently experiencing low water pressure city-wide due to a water main break off Fishkill Avenue down the embankment from the car wash that the Beacon Water Department is currently managing and working to repair. The break was underground, so water was not spilling into public areas. They shut all valves available to contain, and are awaiting a part to be delivered. City officials say that drinking water is being maintained and is safe to drink for those who do have water.

At 11:07am, Beacon City School District Superintendent Dr. Landahl issued a robo call/text/email advising district families of an emergency early dismissal, and released the stacked release schedule with buses accommodating students who normally ride the bus.

After dismissal, Beacon High School Principal Dr. Dwyer updated district families with how field trips in progress would continue working, with pickups and other modes of previously scheduled transportation. He said: “Just a quick note of thanks to our students for their patience and cooperation during the time that we were without water and during our early dismissal. Parents and guardians, thank you for your understanding and support.”

At 11:19am, the City of Beacon issued a robo call/text/email announcing the water main break, and advising residents about the water. The alert said: "This is the City of Beacon, reaching out to inform you of a major water main break along Fishkill Avenue. Portions of the City will experience service disruption, and other areas may experience low pressure. Check the City Facebook page for updates as to timing for restored service. Once water is available again, or if you experience any discoloration, run cold water taps until water runs clear. Thank you for your patience while this emergency infrastructure work is completed."

At 1:30pm, the City of Beacon issued an update in their original post: "City-wide may experience low-pressure as repairs are done. Thank you for patience as these emergency repairs are being completed. More updates will be posted here and the City website, as available. We currently do not have an estimated time for the restoration of water service."

By 2pm, the water pressure remained low but consistent. Stinson's Hub on Rte. 52 confirmed that they needed to close due to no water. However Roma Nova, down the road, remains open. The Fresenius Kidney Care Beacon Dialysis across from the stadium was unable to run treatments for a period of time due to the water main break and directed patients to other locations or rescheduled treatments.

By 2:30pm, some residences experienced increased water pressure.

The City of Beacon Fire Department reported that the fire hydrants are included in the possible water loss and low water pressure, and issued a calling back of any available off duty personal, saying on their Facebook page:

"Due to a large water main break on Fishkill Ave, leaving possibly half the City without water (including fire hydrants), a 10-35 has been transmitted calling back any available off duty personnel.

Engine 33-15 is currently staffed with 3 Career Firefighters.
Engine 33-16 is staffed with 1 Lieutenant and 2 Career Firefighters.
Ladder 33-48 is staffed with 1 Lieutenant and 2 Career Firefighters.”

During the City of Beacon's budget process in October 2025, Fire Chief Tom Lucchesi requested that the City Council consider adding more professional fire fighters to the staff for Beacon.

The City of Beacon's Water Department is a finely tuned department and is known for fixing issues as quickly as they can.

This is a developing story as updates are made by the City of Beacon. Citizens are encouraged to refresh the City of Beacon's Facebook page and main website. People may also leave tips here at A Little Beacon Blog in the Comments below or by emailing in describing how they are/were impacted by the water main break.

City of Beacon's Earlier Response To Aging Infrastructure Of Water and Sewer Pipes

Aging Infrastructure At Local Levels

Prior to today’s water main break, Beacon had a sewer main break on February 24, 2019, as first reported by the Highlands Current, releasing thousands of gallons of partially treated sewage near Fishkill Creek in Beacon, according to state officials mentioned in the article. Drinking water supplies were not impacted, according to the article.

In May of 2018 a sewer line broke under Main Street and Tioronda Avenue in Beacon, causing waste to back up into the basements of some shops, and the closure of Main Street in that section during repair.

According to reporter Jeff Simms of the Highlands Current in a March 15, 2019 article: “Aging infrastructure — in many cases dating back a century or longer — is a major challenge for municipalities around the country. Because miles of pipe rest, in some cases, a dozen feet or more underground, repairs or replacement is expensive. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates it will cost $271 billion over the next 25 years to upgrade the nation’s wastewater infrastructure. And, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 95 percent of that spending will be at the local level.”

2019 Investment Planned For Beacon Water and Sewer Infrastructure Upgrades

On March 4th, 2019, Beacon’s City Council voted to approve monies being spent on upgrading water and sewer systems.

During the March 4 City Council meeting, City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero delivered a report on actions the City of Beacon is taking to repair February’s sewer main break. He also indicated that precautionary steps would be taken, with the city preemptively inspecting more pipe. From his report, for those who like details on how something is fixed, this a breakdown of what went on underground after the break. At ground-level, it’s easy to see a road get split, and then patched. But what goes on underground? Anthony breaks it out:

“Tam Enterprises was called in to install a bypass pump to relieve the sewer main to stop the overflow, which it did. City staff excavated the main, and found the top half of the pipe had eroded, leaving the top section of the pipe brittle. We determined that at this point they bypass through the night and requested that Tam return the next day and evaluate the condition of the pipe and begin emergency repair.

“Tam televised the section of the pipe that was being bypassed, and found remaining sections of the pipe in the same condition as the collapse, so upon further inspection it was determined that three manhole sections were deteriorated, so it looked like it was a larger section, which we were afraid of.

“Currently Tam is in the process of replacing 100 feet of the 14” pipe with 15” plastic sewer drain pipe. So we’re upgrading it to modern standards. They have been alternating use of the bypass by replacing the sewer main. The Water Department Staff has replaced 25 feet of 4” cast-iron pipe with the new 4” ductile iron pipe and replaced the water connections to 150 Wilson Street. Tam is setting up a road bridge at the intersection of Round Tree and Liberty to allow traffic flow.

“Once the new pipe is installed and the manholes are set, the remaining 14” ACP will be slip-lined to prevent any further collapse. Since this is not a standard size, we’ve had to order this. It is a three-week lead time, which we are already one week in. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will have this material.

“Also, I’ve instructed the Water and Sewer Department for any of this type of ACP pipe that we may have out there for us to TV to see how they are holding up, as a precaution. We are taking immediate actions and steps on this, and it will be resolved in the next couple weeks.”

Mayor Randy Casale Says Sewer and Water Main Breaks Not Unique To Beacon

After the City Administrator gave his report at the March 4 City Council meeting, the Mayor contributed to the conversation as monies are spent to upgrade aging infrastructure:

“It is not unique to see a pipe collapse in any one of the communities. We are upgrading and we have spent a lot of money on our sewer system over the last seven or eight years, and we will continue to spend that money to upgrade the sewer and water system. We are putting an Asset Management Plan together, which will hopefully put us in a position to do some planning ahead to be job-ready to get grants to upgrade them.

“This is not unique to any old city along the Hudson River. If anybody believes it is, they are living in Fairy Land. Read the Newburgh paper, see how many collapses they had right across the river. Read the Poughkeepsie paper. Read down in Yonkers. It happens all over, from New York City to Albany because everyone has an old infrastructure because the taxpayers couldn’t afford to dig up every pipe and put new pipe. They’ve been in the ground for 100 years.

“We’re working at it. As we get more income, we’ll do a better job at it. And we will continue to work at it. I want the public to know that. If they think that this situation was done through development, the last I looked at this City, there hasn’t been a lot of development up in that area.

“I know people want to blame it on development, but development hasn’t caused the problem. What has caused the problem is that the pipes have been in the ground for over 100 years, and nobody has put money into upgrading the infrastructure anywhere, throughout the United States. It’s one of the places the government puts the least amount of money - into infrastructure improvement. Pick up the national papers across the country. It’s not unique to this city.”

At that City Council meeting, the following resolutions regarding Water and Sewer Systems were passed.

Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of up to $5,149,152 Aggregate Principal Amount Serial Bonds of the City of Beacon, County of Dutchess, State of New York, Pursuant to the Local Construction, Reconstruction and Improvement to the Sewer System, in and for the City

Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of up to $1,823,000 Aggregate Principal Amount Serial Bonds of the City of Beacon, County of Dutchess, State of New York, Pursuant to the Local Finance Law, to Finance the Costs of the Construction, Reconstruction and Improvement to the Water System, in and for the City

Water Main Break In Beacon On Rte. 52 Near Dunkin' Donuts Thursday Morning

Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

On Thursday morning in Beacon, a water main broke on Route 52 near Dunkin’ Donuts, causing traffic jams for the morning commute. One parent of middle schoolers at Rombout Middle School said she was stuck in traffic, and thought it was a result of the Beacon High School re-opening after Wednesday’s closure. But after learning about the water main break, she realized that could have been the problem.

“The road was closed from Prospect Avenue in Fishkill to Blackburn Avenue” (in Beacon, by Ron’s Ice Cream), confirmed Anthony Ruggiero, the City Administrator for Beacon. By 11:30 am, cars were being routed for one lane of traffic, and by 12 pm the road was open and the break fixed. The Beacon Highway Department was on it like bonnets to close up the street and sweep it.

The Barking Frog, located across the street and down the road a bit from Dunkin’ Donuts, was pleased with Beacon’s response, saying via A Little Beacon Blog’s Instagram: “Great job guys! We were so happy to be able to open this afternoon!!!!”

If you noticed low water pressure this morning, it was a result of the water main break, confirmed Anthony when we inquired. No one lost water, he added.

The City of Beacon gave an overview of water and sewer pipe infrastructure in Beacon, and the city’s current and future plans to upgrade it during the March 4, 2019, City Council meeting. You can read about that here in this article on A Little Beacon Blog. The article includes a breakdown of what was done to address the sewer pipe break back in February 2019.