Water main break impacts dozens of homes in Mount Airy section of Philadelphia
Dozens of residents in Philadelphia's Mount Airy neighborhood woke up without water Tuesday morning after a water main break that filled streets with standing water and mud.
The water main break happened around 7 a.m. in the area of Lowber Avenue and Slocum Street. Workers on the scene said the affected line is 8 inches in diameter. Eighty customers are impacted.
"Woke up this morning, I thought it was raining," resident Craig Glenn said. "I look at it, wow, water gushing, coming everywhere."
Water main breaks are not new in Philly. CBS News Philadelphia spoke with workers about the method to their work. One employee likened finding a leak to "flying blind."
Once the area of the break is isolated, the water line is slowly re-charged. The rods placed at various places along the suspected break show water bubbling to the surface. They'll eventually pinpoint the exact area of the break and excavate.
Neighbors say this is the second time they've dealt with a water main break in the area in the past few months. Crews patched up the last one, and it took about 12 hours to get the water back on.
"Well, obviously it's a little bit inconvenient," resident George Williams said. "My mom had to go to an appointment this morning, so she couldn't even take a shower before leaving. We had to brush our teeth with bottles of water."
Ironically, Glenn was digging up broken mains for the water department until he retired 10 years ago.
"This is life in Philadelphia," Glenn said.
The Philadelphia Water Department said service would be restored by 5 p.m.