Canarsie Homeowners Dealing With Flooding Basements After Water Main Break
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A water main break in Brooklyn flooded some streets in Canarsie with murky water Tuesday, and for some unfortunate homeowners, the problem seeped into their basements.
"I just seen water pouring through the back door, through the basement door. I opened the door and like a whole wave of water came at me," Canarsie resident Everton Facey said. "It got up to my knees."
Facey says he walked down the block to see cracked pavement and murky water running down the sloped street directly towards his home.
In the 30-plus years the house at 558 East 78th Street has been in his family, Facey says he's never experienced anything like this.
Now the concern shifts to insurance and whether he can salvage anything touched by water.
"I got a brand new pressure washer downstairs that hasn't been used yet. That's $2,000 right there," he said. "All my electrical stuff, it was on the floor, so I couldn't really save anything due to how fast the water was coming in."
A few houses down at 552 East 79th, another resident was pumping water out of his basement. He didn't let CBS2 inside but said off-camera there must have been at least 2 inches of flood water at its peak.
Others saw dirty water come up through their sinks and toilets.
As crews continue to search for the origin of the leak, Farragut Road between 78th and 79th streets will remain closed.
A Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson says repairs, including replacement of the pipe and re-paving of the street, will be done as soon as possible but couldn't put a time frame on how long that could take or how long traffic will be impacted.
The DEP spokesperson also says any disruption to the water delivery system can cause the water to become temporarily discolored. The water is not harmful, but residents should run their tap until it becomes clear and cold.