Most, if not all, Kingston water customers experienced either no water or very low pressure today due to a major water line break that occurred around 7:00 a.m. on Old East Race Street and Poor Road.

Kingston Utilities Director Kevin Hamilton, at around 1:15 p.m., said that crews were making progress on restoration efforts. He expressed hope that the system would replenish itself by late afternoon. All schools in the Kingston area were dismissed early today because of the lack of water.

Hamilton said he regrets the incident but noted that it was one of those unavoidable issues: a main water line broke, draining the tanks and causing the widespread loss of pressure—and complete outages in some areas. As of this newscast at 5:30 p.m., things should be returning to normal.

Hamilton is also expected to provide a full report at this evening’s Kingston Water Board meeting, which takes place after the city council meeting. The council session begins at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.