Crews Working To Fix Water Line Leak That Flooded Several Downtown Buildings

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Crews are still working to repair a six-inch water line break on Third Avenue, which is located right outside The Annex building Downtown.

The break happened around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Water in the basement of the Carlyle Condominium building stood at about five feet high.

On Monday, the water level was down to a few inches. Fortunately, nothing was damaged other than three or four storage units, which received minor damage.

"We noticed it early enough when our water alarms went off and were able to move stuff from the most prone area," Jeffrey Eck with the Carlyle Condominium Association said.

On Monday, pumps were brought in to suck the rest of the building dry of water.

"Our sump pumps that run continually down there were submerged so they need to be removed and repaired to get those functioning," Eck said.

A private owner is responsible for the break. An underground tunnel system running along Third Avenue caused the water to flow into neighboring buildings like the Wood Street Commons and The Annex, where it look like the break originated from.

The Times Building also suffered a lot of damage.

Officials say the electrical system is shot, and only one elevator in The Annex is working. The same goes for the elevators in the Carlyle. The goal is to get one of them up and running by the end of the day.

"We've maintained domestic water supply. For the most part, folks are getting exercise going up and down stairs at this point," Eck said.

The Carlyle is 22 stories high.

It could take a few days or a few weeks to get everything dried out and repaired.

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