OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Members of the Dunkirk Fire Department helped in the distribution of water on Wednesday.

The city of Dunkirk was still experiencing water distribution problems Wednesday, a day after a major water main break on Lake Shore Drive East.

City officials warned residents Wednesday they would have low water pressure, or even none at all. That’s because the people who oversee the water works don’t want to overstress the system by taking flow rates back to normal all at once.

The main break was first reported at 12:15 a.m. Tuesday. Large parts of the city were without water all day Tuesday. City Department of Public Works employees were on Lake Shore Drive East all day, working on the break until well after sunset. The road was closed for the day between Central Avenue and Main Street but reopened Wednesday.

The city also distributed bottled water to residents Wednesday for a second straight day, at the Firemen’s Training Grounds on Brigham Road. On Wednesday, there was also a tanker full of potable water provided by the state Office of Emergency Management.

However, the bottled water didn’t last very long. At 10:45 a.m., 15 minutes before the training grounds were opened, at least 30 cars were already lined up on Brigham Road, waiting to get in.

The bottles were reportedly gone by 1 p.m. and the tanker had to be replenished, too. City officials stated in a press release they were working on getting more bottles so they could have a third water distribution session.

City Fire Department officials reported that on Tuesday, the first day of the water crisis, about 70,000 bottles of water were distributed.