MONMOUTH COUNTY — There are about 185,000 residents in 22 towns affected by the collapse of three large water pipes at NJ American Water's treatment plant at Swimming River Reservoir, according to William Heine, spokesman for Monmouth County.

Residents in the 22 towns are under a boil-water advisory and the entire county is being asked to conserve. There is a mandatory ban on outdoor watering and county residents are being told to shorten showers.

“We understand it’s an inconvenience,” said Richard Barnes, spokesman for NJ American Water, “but we are asking customers to conserve as much water as they can.”

The county was hit doubly hard as this is a particularly hot holiday weekend when tens of thousands will flock to the shore. It is not uncommon to see a spike in usage during a typical summer weekend, Barnes said. “Generally, when it’s hot, people use more water,” he said. “It is a concern. Demand is usually up in the summer.”

The problems began at noon on Friday when a 90-foot span of a wooden bridge collapsed, disabling three pipes at the company's water treatment plant.

That impacted NJ American Water’s ability to draw water from the reservoir into its treatment plant and then deliver it from their plant to its customers.

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There are about 74,000 service connections in the 22 towns, Heine said.

The bridge was compromised during Tropical Storm Irene, Barnes said, but was not immediately certain what kind of damage it sustained. He said that NJ American Water hired an independent firm to inspect the bridge and the company was told there was no “imminent threat.”

Sheriff Shaun Golden said traffic advisories are being posted along the highway, alerting beachgoers that there is a boil water advisory in affect for the 22 towns served by NJ American Water and that the entire county is being asked to conserve water.

It appears, so far, that the lack of potable water has done little to stem the tide of tourists, Golden said.

“We’re not really seeing an impact,” he said. “It’s a nice, hot day. Everybody is going to the beach.”

Previous Coverage

• Nearly 200,000 could be without clean water for days after pipes break in Monmouth

• Monmouth County water emergency declared after 3 water pipes crack