Water main break: What went wrong?

What was touted as a hearing to talk about ways to move forward and make improvements on communication and an aging infrastructure, quickly turned into a blame game.

The Erie County Legislature met with key players of the Erie County Water Authority and Erie County Health Department to get to the bottom of what went wrong during a major water main break, which began in Amherst the night of July 20th.

ECWA chairman Earl Jann began by laying out a timeline of events and a rundown of how his agency is looking to improve communication with customers.

For the next 90 minutes, members of the Erie County Water Authority - which is a state agency - and members of the Legislature rehashed details of the break.

As lawmakers questioned timelines and details, some parties involved in the break went on the defensive -- with both Jann and Associate Public Health Engineer Delores Funke defending their decisions based on the knowledge at that time and maintaining their commitment to safety.

“Really, no one is trying to embarrass anyone this (water advisory) is a very difficult decision to make when it happens,” Funke told Legislators during the hearing.

But discussion on what happens next in terms of communication and infrastructure was limited to Jann’s introduction and in his answers given after the hearing.

“Right now we’re looking at about 11 and a half miles of pipe to do next year and I know that doesn’t sound like much compared to the amount of pipe that has to be replaced,” Jann told members of the media after the hearing.

“But unless somebody comes up with a big pot of money for us that’s where we are.”