Yonkers, New York Water Outage Today

Yonkers tap water system, by the numbers

The system behind most taps in Yonkers is Yonkers City, which EPA records list as serving roughly 211,569 people. Customers know it as Yonkers Water Bureau; the name on your bill is the one to call.

Source water and treatment in Yonkers

Yonkers does not collect its own raw water. Yonkers City buys surface water from Westchester County Wd #1, New York City System, and Greenburgh Consolidated Wd #1 and distributes it through its own mains. Treatment points named in EPA's facility list include Water Treatment Plant Hillview - Yonkers, Water Treatment Plant Crisfield Hs, and Water Treatment Plant Yonkers. After treatment the water is held in 3 storage tanks and reservoirs and pushed uphill by 1 pump facility; that storage is the buffer that keeps taps running for a few hours after a pump or main fails.

Why this matters when the water stops. Problems can start outside the city: if Westchester County Wd #1 has to shut a main or its plant, Yonkers can run short even though nothing is wrong with the local pipes. Follow alerts from the supplier and from Yonkers Water Bureau.

Why the water goes out in Yonkers

These are the causes that match the record for Yonkers, listed roughly in order of how much they matter here.

• Freezing weather. Yonkers sees about 106 days a year with a low at or below 32°F, and 25 days at or below 20°F. The coldest morning in the 2015 through 2025 record came on February 24, 2015. The longest stretch with highs that never rose above freezing ran 14 days, ending January 8, 2018. Frost pushes into shallow service lines first. Mains follow when the ground heaves and thaws, which is why break counts climb a day or two after the temperature swings.
• Flooding and heavy rain. NOAA logged 128 flood, flash flood and heavy rain reports in Westchester County from 2015 through 2026, and 11 days a year bring an inch of rain or more. Floodwater can undercut pipe crossings, swamp pump stations and overload treatment plants, and a notice to boil water often follows when it enters the system.
• Older neighborhoods and pipe. 69.2% of occupied homes in Yonkers were built before 1970, against 35.5% nationally. Streets of that age tend to sit on cast iron and early steel mains that are near or past their design life, which is where most breaks start.
• Storm-driven power loss. Thunderstorm wind, hail and tornado reports in Westchester County number 149 since 2015. Pump stations and treatment plants that depend on Con Edison run on the electric grid, so a storm that downs power lines can lower water pressure even when no pipe is damaged.
• Construction and third-party damage. A backhoe or boring crew that hits a main is among the most common reasons a single block goes dry without warning. Utilities handle those the same way as any break: isolate, repair, flush.
• Planned shutoffs and a problem at one address. Valve replacements and new connections are announced ahead, often with door hangers. If neighbors have water, check your own shutoff valve, meter and pressure regulator before calling.

Yonkers weather and water-main stress, 2015–2025

Main break season in Yonkers runs from late fall into early spring, with the coldest stretch around December through February.

The figures are reanalysis estimates for the center of Yonkers, not readings from a single weather station, so treat them as a guide to how often each kind of weather occurs rather than as official records.

Boil water advisories and the federal violation record for Yonkers

EPA lists 1 health-based violation for Yonkers City since 2015.

Most recent health-based entries:

• May 2015: A treatment technique violation It is marked resolved.

When Yonkers loses pressure after a break or a failed test, Yonkers Water Bureau asks affected customers to boil water for drinking and cooking. The notice ends only after samples come back clean, which usually takes one to two days after service returns, and the New York State Department of Health and county health departments supervises the process.

Lead service lines and old plumbing in Yonkers

The most recent 90th-percentile lead result filed for Yonkers City is 7.1 ppb (2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb, so that result is well under it.

69.2% of occupied homes in Yonkers were built before 1970, and lead service lines and solder stayed legal until the federal ban in 1986. After any outage that disturbs the pipes, run the cold tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking, and ask Yonkers Water Bureau about its lead service line inventory.

How long a water outage lasts in Yonkers

A crew that arrives at an ordinary main break in Yonkers usually needs 4 to 8 hours to isolate the pipe, dig, repair, flush and restore pressure. Large transmission mains, deep pipes and breaks under busy streets can take a day or more.

For a break that affects many customers, Yonkers Water Bureau usually posts an estimated restoration time. When you call, ask the dispatcher what the crew has told them.

Preparing for a long water outage in Yonkers

The average household in Yonkers has about 2.6 people, so FEMA's minimum of one gallon per person per day comes to roughly 8 gallons for three days and 36 gallons for two weeks.

• 38.1% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units. Upper floors lose pressure first, and rooftop tanks and booster pumps depend on building power.
• 53.8% of households rent. Tell your landlord or property manager about a leak or outage right away, since the shutoff valve may be theirs.
• A standard water heater is a ready-made 40-gallon reserve. Shut off its power or gas, open a hot tap somewhere in the house, and draw from the drain valve.
• Fill a tub or large containers early for toilets, cleaning and handwashing, and store drinking water separately in clean bottles.

Water systems near Yonkers, side by side

Water outage pages for nearby cities

Mount Vernon, NY · Paterson, NJ · New York City, NY · Jersey City, NJ