Water Main Breaks Gusher

[Howard]

"All the land between New England and Mexico is being pulled at a diagonal, and it is not just the fault lines that are feeling stress. All will participate when the New Madrid Fault

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - "Super Sinkhole Walter" and 40 Others 

Malibu, California - Recurring Water Main Breaks

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Big Hole / Deep Water 

[Howard]

Enormous Hot Water Geyser From Ruptured Water Main in Russia (Apr 11)

A hot water pipe that runs under the main square in the city of Smolensk burst during the day, flooding the area filled with cars in boiling water.

A couple hundred miles west of Moscow, the artificial geyser's eruption threw tons of trash and stones as large as a building bricks into the air, damaging cars and scaring onlookers.

People were going about their business next to a collective-farm area when a fissure in the pavement began spitting steam. Seconds later the little perforation split open to unleash a mephitic torrent of boiling water that soared above the rooftops of nearby three-story buildings.

Sources

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/huge-boiling-water-geyser-erupts-...

http://jalopnik.com/russian-drivers-unfazed-by-gigantic-hot-water-g...

[Howard]

Massive Water Main Break Inundates Akron Ohio Neighborhood (Apr 12)

(Follow-up on Kojima's report yesterday)

Crews from the city of Akron used front end loaders to dig out homes along Valley Street on Friday as the clean-up got underway following a massive water main break on Thursday.

The break sent a river of water and mud into nearby neighborhoods, submerging cars and pouring filth as much as six feet deep into some basements.

On Gold Street, the rushing water collapsed the foundation of one home that was left uninhabitable.

Power and gas service to the affected homes remained out on Friday as Akron housing inspectors began assessing the damage.

Dale Bench was there as the water was rising and was able to go into his Valley Street house on Friday.

“All the electric and all the gas is off in all these residences around here and to some of the commercial buildings,” said Bench. “We are in the process of trying to get those turned back on. Each building has to be inspected.”

Bench said the street looked like Niagara Falls after the water started gushing after 6 p.m. on Thursday.

“For real, we don’t have flood insurance,” said Bench. “Who has flood insurance on a rental? Who would ever think it would flood down here like this? You got four man holes so was it negligence…was it negligence or was it a flood.”

Neighbors continued to share their experiences on Friday.

“It sounded like it was raining, but I looked out the window and you couldn’t see no rain so I went up to the window and looked out the window and it was flooded, water everywhere,” said Kari Jiminez. “I was worried because you could hear it going into the basement from the outside, so we didn’t know what was going to happen.”

City crews were also cleaning up the debris at the massive hole opened up at the site of the break.

The water undermined the foundation of a local extruding company building which could not operate its shop on Friday.

St. Vincent-St. Mary School was also closed on Friday because of the break.

The Red Cross was maintaining a shelter for residents who had nowhere else to go.

A boil water advisory remained in effect from western Akron through Copley and Fairlawn.

“This is a 36 inch water main, plus it’s under a lot of pressure. This water main serves almost all of west Akron, so when it went you get a lot of water out of a 36 inch water main,” said Jim Weber, Construction Manager for the City of Akron.

Sources with video

http://fox8.com/2013/04/12/residents-displaced-digging-out-after-ma...
http://fox8.com/2013/04/11/people-trapped-in-homes-after-water-main...
http://fox8.com/2013/04/13/boil-advisory-lifted-after-water-main-br...

[Kojima]

* Water Main Break Swamps Ohio Neighborhood [ABC News; 12 April 2013]

People were warned to boil water as a precaution after a broken 36-inch main swamped an Akron neighborhood, submerging cars, trapping residents and washing away foundations.

The pipeline was shut down after the break Thursday night, but not before rising water trapped some people in homes and cars. Nearly a dozen people were rescued by boat.

Akron Water customers in suburban Copley and Fairlawn and areas of west Akron were warned to boil water for at least two minutes before using.

Stanley Glover, 53, said the basement of his home flooded. "It was just pouring in like a water hose, busting through the foundation," he told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Three evacuated families from the neighborhood stayed for the night at a Red Cross shelter. St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, located near the break, canceled classes Friday.

Some residents who ventured onto the streets of the West Hill neighborhood ended up on the tops of their cars to avoid the water.

The pipeline break carved deep ruts into the pavement, left behind a thick layer of mud and threatened the basement of a commercial building.

Fire Lt. Jeff Schueller, a member of the Akron Fire Department's dive team, said a boat was used to evacuate as many as 11 people from two homes that took the brunt of the flooding.

Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said no one was injured but loss of property might be significant.

* Water main break on Market St. in Greensboro [MyFOX8.com; 13 April 2013]

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A water main broke early Saturday morning on East Market Street in Greensboro.

As of 1:30 p.m., city officials said East Market Street was closed between South Church and Linden streets.  Traffic is being redirected in the area.

There was no estimate as to how long the stretch of road would remain closed or how many people’s water service is affected.

* Rising Sun water main break fixed [Cecil Daily.com; 12 April 2013]

This was the scene last night in Valley View Village off East Main Street in Rising Sun, where town public works crews were repairing a broken 12-inch water main.

Rising Sun's Department of Public Works employees were finally finished repairing a broken 12-inch water main around midnight, according to Superintendent Ron Thomas.

The almost 4-foot-long split was discovered around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon in the Valley View Village neighborhood off East Main Street.

"We cut out 116 inches of pipe," Thomas said Friday, adding the department had to hire a contractor to help with the repairs. "The contractor operated the heavy equipment. We did the hand digging."

Residents of the townhouse community may see cloudy water today and Thomas advised people to boil water before consuming it. 

* Chevy Chase water main break could happen again [WTOP; 10 April 2013]

CHEVY CHASE, Md. - A water main break like the one that shot a geyser several stories into the air and caused major damage in Chevy Chase last month could happen again elsewhere in the region.

Work continues Wednesday to repair the area damaged after a 60-inch water main burst March 19 in Chevy Chase. Crews have filled in the area around the burst pipe. (WTOP/John Aaron)

Montgomery and Prince George's counties have up to 800 sections of pipe like the one that ruptured in Chevy Chase on March 19.

Additionally, Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner told WTOP he was surprised to learn an early warning system couldn't spot this type of break.

"We thought we had a monitoring system in place that we could assure our public that they are safe," Berliner said.

But Jim Neustadt, Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, says WSSC has always been upfront about the limitations of the monitoring system.

The system works by listening for the noises made when pre-stressed wire breaks. But if a section of pipe contains no wire, like the failed piece in Chevy Chase, the system would not detect the failure.

Crews rebuild a curb Wednesday in Chevy Chase. The work is as part of ongoing repairs after a 60-inch water main burst in March. (WTOP/John Aaron)

Crews rebuild a curb Wednesday in Chevy Chase. The work is as part of ongoing repairs after a 60-inch water main burst in March. (WTOP/John Aaron)

"We have never said [acoustic monitoring] is fail-safe," Neustadt said. "We know that as much as we do, there's always something that can happen."

A full report on the break is expected to come out in July. The massive water main break left 1.8 million WSSC customers on water restrictions for several days while crews worked to replace a 20-foot section of pipe.

Work to restore damage to a nearby creek bed, trees, a portion of Wisconsin Avenue and sidewalk were expected to take weeks.

* Pearland: Red water runs out of faucets after 16-inch water main break [abc13.com; 13 April 2013]

The city of Pearland says a water main break near City Hall is the cause behind red water running out of some faucets in at least one neighborhood.

PEARLAND, TX (KTRK) -- Pearland city officials say residents who've seen red water run out of their faucets all day should not be alarmed.

The city says the red water is the result of a 16-inch water main break off FM 518 near City Hall, but the water is safe to drink.

The water main break happened around 9am after construction workers dug too deep and hit the main.

It took workers more than seven hours to flush out the line and complete the repairs.

The city says the majority of residents who were affected live in the Shady Crest neighborhood. However, Eyewitness News also received reports from residents in Oak Brook Estates off Dixie Farm Road.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest details. 

* Central San Diego neighborhood without water after main break [10News; 13 April 2013]

SAN DIEGO - A neighborhood in central San Diego is without water Saturday morning due to a water main break.

The break occurred at about 4:30 a.m. in the 4800 block of Federal Boulevard. About an hour later, water was shut off while crews work to repair the 12-inch cast iron pipe that burst.

The water district says 33 homes and six businesses are affected.

Water is expected to be restored by about 5 p.m.

[Howard]

5 Water Main Breaks in 5 Days - Hoboken, New Jersey (Apr 1)
Following four water main breaks since Thursday, March 28, a fifth one was reported early Monday morning, April 1st.

A boil water advisory remained in effect in Hoboken Thursday night following two earlier water main breaks that blew out pressure and created a sinkhole that swallowed a car.

Residents in the area said at one point, there was about 4 feet of water flowing down the street.

“I was working upstairs when I heard a big thud, like something fell down. I looked out the window and I saw a huge crack in the street with water gushing out,” one man said.

Water flooded the streets, seeping into nearby homes and businesses and causing the street to buckle. By the time crews arrived, a sinkhole had opened up and swallowed a car.

The first water main break sent water rushing into nearby basements that were destroyed during Sandy.

“All of these basements got flooded about 4-feet or so,” resident Robert Costa said.

“We cleared it all out right after Sandy so we lost everything again,” resident Sean MaGee added.

Another man who just replaced his boiler after Sandy had a few feet of water in his basement because of the main break.

Once again, residents were evacuating and preparing for days or even weeks of hardship.

Sources

http://hoboken.patch.com/articles/fifth-water-main-break-in-five-da...

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/04/fourth_hoboken_wa...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hoboken-water-pipe-leaks-b...

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hoboken-water-2-water-mains-rup...

http://media.nj.com/jersey-journal/photo/2013/03/-2cacb88b362ad10c.JPG

[Howard]

Geyser Gushes From Broken Water Main in Toronto (Mar 23)
 
An underground pipe ruptured and sent water gushing out of the ground like a geyser in Toronto’s east end on Saturday morning.

Water sprayed several metres into the air and pounded against a townhouse complex on Kingston Road, just east of Galloway Road.

Source

[Howard]

Massive Water Main Break Wreaks Havoc Near Washington DC (Mar 19)

An unexplained break in a 60-inch water main in Chevy Chase, Maryland caused a 30-foot geyser that knocked out a street light and created a massive crater that swallowed sidewalk, trees and roadway, prompting mandatory water restrictions for 1.8 million people in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

A 20-foot section of the five-foot pipe at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Chevy Chase Lake Drive had to be replaced, according to officials from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

The cause of the break is still being investigated and may take months to determine, officials said, who noted the incident resulted in the loss of nearly 60 million gallons of water.

Damages to the area surrounding the water main break will take weeks to repair, WSSC officials said. Restoration is needed to roadways and sidewalks and damages trees will also have to be removed, officials said.

As a result, the far right northbound lane on Connecticut Avenue remains closed near the break, according to WSSC officials.

Sources

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-19/local/37825704_1_wssc...

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=864&sid=3255676

http://wtop.com/46/3261187/Water-main-break-restrictions-lifted-in-...

http://www.gazette.net/article/20130324/NEWS/130329422/1029/water-r...

[Howard]

Water Main Break, Multiple Sinkholes Affect 23 Homes in San Francisco (Mar 5)

Things have gotten worse for the San Francisco neighborhood where a water main broke last Wednesday. Streets were flooded and several homes were damaged that day and there were also two resulting sinkholes, one in the street and one in a backyard. Now, there are at least three more and three homes have been red-tagged.

A handful of city agencies met to talk about the disaster Monday. They then went to the neighborhood to meet with residents. Since day one when there was one sinkhole in the street and one in the backyard, three more have been discovered, the most recent one on Monday afternoon at a house where the owners just moved in only two weeks ago. They haven't been ordered to move out yet, but three other families have.

Three homes on 15th Avenue are red-tagged. The sign says, "Soil unstable beneath home." Two of those red-tagged houses share a 20-foot sinkhole inside the homes. "It measures 20 feet in diameter, probably 4 to 5 feet deep," said Chuck Wilson, one homeowner's brother.

The 16-inch underground water main on 15th Avenue broke just before 3 a.m. The water exploded up through the concrete and asphalt road above and created a river two-feet deep flowing across Wawona. Twenty-three homes were affected. That day, there was one sinkhole in the street where the break happened and one more in a backyard, but the red tags came days later when more sinkholes began appearing.

Cindy Coyne's home is red-tagged. She says State Farm is now backpedaling on coverage it promised at the beginning. "We need to know now. We need to make decisions for our future, for our children who are living in a hotel at the airport," she said.

Source

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&a...

[Howard]

Water Main Break Shatters Windows in Texas (Feb 22)

A water main break shattered the windows of a house in Fort Worth early Friday morning.

Around 12:15 a.m., a man inside his house at 3955 Pate Dr. said it sounded like hail was hitting his home. When he went to investigate,  he discovered a large water main had ruptured in the street in front of his home.

The "hail" turned out to be loose rocks displaced by the water that was shooting out of the broken pipe and into the man's front yard.

The man also discovered that three windows in the front of his home had been shattered and water from the line was coming inside the house.

The Fort Worth Water Department closed four valves to stop the flow of water about one hour and 45 minutes after the man called 911.

Emergency crews said they couldn't immediately identify why the line breached.

Source 

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Water-Main-Break-Shatters-Windows-...

[Derrick Johnson]

San Francisco Pipe Burst Spills Chlorine Into Creek, Kills Dozens Of Rare Fish

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dozens of fish, including rare steelhead, were killed after a drinking water pipe burst and sent thousands of gallons of chlorinated water rushing into a San Francisco Bay area creek.

The city's Public Utilities Commission said it discovered the leak Saturday near Crystal Springs Reservoir, part of a drinking water system that serves 2.5 million Bay Area residents.

Officials said they expected the fish death toll to reach a couple of hundred fish.

"That's obviously especially problematic – killing any fish is problematic – but with threatened steelhead, you do not want to have that happen," said Steven Ritchie, assistant general manager for water at the commission.

San Mateo Creek flows about five miles from the reservoir to San Francisco Bay.

Ritchie said the 1932-era pipe that broke was likely corroded, but the official cause of the burst is not yet known.

When the pipe burst, it sent chlorinated water at 1,000-gallons per minute down a hillside and into the creek.

Crews were able to slow, but not stop, the leak after several hours, and repairs to the pipe are ongoing, Ritchie said.

Ritchie said he does not expect a long-term environmental problem there.

State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Regional Water Quality Control Board are investigating the incident and could assess penalties for the fish killed and any environmental damage.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/san-francisco-pipe-burst-_...

[Howard]

Water Main Break Floods Streets in St. Paul Minnesota (Feb 9)
A 20-inch water main ruptured in downtown St. Paul late Friday, sending an estimated 1.75 million gallons of water coursing through the streets of Lowertown, disrupting service and prompting the city to test the area's tap water.

The break occurred around midnight on Wall Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, with water cascading down Wall and Broadway streets toward Kellogg Boulevard for two hours.

For nearly 12 hours after the break, the city advised residents in affected areas not to drink the tap water until testing was completed.

On Saturday afternoon, production distribution manager Jim Graupmann said crews had a chance to inspect the pipe and were attempting to determine the cause.

"We may not know, ever, but we'll take a look and see," he said.

The pipe dates back to 1952, Graupmann said, but added that isn't older than average for the system. The last time he recalled a break of this magnitude was in 1991.

A large swath of St. Paul had its water service affected by the break. The exact number of affected customers is unknown, but homes and businesses east of Interstate 35E, west of U.S. 52, south of University Avenue and north of the bluff line experienced water supply and pressure issues, according to Graupmann.

That area includes St. Paul's Lower West Side, Downtown and Lower West 7th neighborhoods.

Source

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22555002/st-paul-broken-wate...