A water main break near Wind Creek Resort in Bethlehem left hundreds of residents with low water pressure Monday evening, with crews still working the scene and no estimate for when repairs would be finished. The break struck at Third and Hayes streets just before 5:45 p.m., disrupting service for nearby homes and several institutions, including Wind Creek, Lehigh University and Northampton Community College's Fowler Center.
According to WFMZ-TV, a Northampton County emergency communications supervisor confirmed the timing of the break, and dispatchers at the Northampton County 9-1-1 Center said they could verify that the single main break occurred at Third and Hayes streets. The 9-1-1 center asked residents not to call in about the break.
Bethlehem city crews were on site working to fix the break, though the station's report gave no estimated completion time for when water service would return to normal. Repair crews remained at the scene controlling gushing water as the evening wore on, per the same account. Hundreds of residents in the surrounding area were left experiencing low water pressure as a result.
Campus and Casino Feel the Impact
Northampton Community College's Fowler Center announced it was without water because of the main break and said it would be closed for the remainder of Monday, November 2. The break also affected Lehigh University and Wind Creek Resort, both located near the intersection where the rupture occurred, the station's report notes.
Authorities asked residents to minimize water usage until normal pressure could be reliably restored, and they also urged people to avoid the area around Third and Hayes streets if possible while crews worked.
Part of a Rough Stretch for Bethlehem's Pipes
Monday's break follows what has been a difficult stretch for Bethlehem's water infrastructure. A separate report from wfmz.com noted that numerous water breaks have been reported across the region recently amid bitterly cold temperatures, with incidents also seen in Allentown, Lower Saucon Township and Pottsville. In that same Bethlehem break, between Butztown Road and Lansdale Avenue, water service was shut off for 20 customers and later restored by 3 p.m., with eight homes placed under a boil-water advisory.
Bethlehem's director of water and sewer resources said the city had seen more water main breaks than usual during the winter of 2024–25, according to lehighvalleylive.com. A February 2025 break in an 8-inch main in the 2300 block of Covington Avenue in Northeast Bethlehem led to a sinkhole, prompting the city to order residents of a three-home townhouse building to evacuate until a structural assessment was finished. Crews in that incident isolated the break and restored water to the block within a couple of hours, though nearby residents were placed under a boil-water advisory because of lost pressure.
Other recent breaks in the city have varied widely in scope. One, behind the Minsi Trail Inn off Stefko Boulevard, happened after a private contractor's test drilling put a six-inch-deep hole in a 23-foot-deep, 60-year-old water main line, wfmz.com reported. A May 2025 break on Schoenersville Road affected only about 10 customers, with service expected to return once the break was fixed, according to mcall.com.
No cause has been given for Monday's break at Third and Hayes streets, and it remains unclear when water pressure in the affected area will fully return to normal.
