Water Main Breaks Gusher

[Howard]

Water main break destroys street near Los Angeles, California - July 29, 2014    

"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 makes a serious adjustment."  ZetaTalk

 

Since 2013, a conspicuous number of water main breaks and sinkholes have been reported across the U.S.  While water lines commonly rupture during winter months, especially in regions experiencing subfreezing temperatures, large water mains are fracturing in southern states where ground temperatures remain above freezing.

Notable water main breaks and sinkholes during the first 6 days of 2013:

 

January 1

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

Harrisburg officials expect it will take several weeks to repair damage from a massive sinkhole that forced dozens of residents to evacuate.

The city’s Department of Public Works said it could be another 30 days before water, sewer and gas lines are replaced in the neighborhood where the sinkhole is causing problems.  "Super Sinkhole Walter," as the North Fourth Street collapse has been called, is big enough to have its own Foursquare check-in location.

On Thursday, the massive hole partially swallowed a construction backhoe.

The hole opened Monday morning, and later opened a bigger hole.

A spokesman for Mayor Linda Thompson said the city must replace the entire water and sewer system lines on the block.
The spokesman, Robert Philbin, said new water and sewer lines will not be working for five to six weeks.

These two large sinkholes in the 2100 block of North Fourth Street are among at least 40 sinkholes covered by steel plates citywide, according to Kevin Hagerich, director of the city’s Department of Public Works.

Interactive Map of Known Sinkholes in Harrisburg

Sources

http://tribwpmt.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/2013-01-01_14-41-38_69....

http://tribune-democrat.com/local/x1303509877/Harrisburg-sinkhole-s...

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/01/interactive_map_...

 

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January 3

Malibu, California - Recurring Water Main Breaks

Another water main break in Malibu collapsed part of John Tyler Drive as crews worked to repair the leak.

A broken water main and partially collapsed road have narrowed traffic to one lane on Malibu Country Drive near John Tyler Drive.

Between 30 and 35 customers in Malibu Country Estates are without water. Los Angeles County Public Works received a call about a partially collapsed roadway on Malibu Country Drive at 9:30 a.m, according to spokesman Mike Kaspar.

Kaspar said the road is cut down to one lane for approximately 100 yards.

This is the second water main break reported in Malibu in as many days. On Wednesday, the main that supplies water to the Adamson House broke and employees from Public Works worked overnight on a temporary fix and permanent reroute of the underground pipeline. Westbound traffic on Pacific Coast Highway was cut down to one lane between Malibu Inn and Serra Road while crews made the repair.

Source

 

 

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Big Hole / Deep Water

A water main break has closed the westbound lanes of 44th Street between Division Avenue and U.S. 131 in Wyoming, Michigan

A broken valve is causing complications in repairing the break in a 16-inch water main and the road may be closed until Saturday, authorities now say.

The valve, which broke in a partially-closed position, must be replaced before the water main can be fixed, Wyoming Director of Public Works William Dooley said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 4.

The water main broke area of 44th Street SW and Clay Avenue on Thursday.

The westbound lanes of 44th Street are closed near Clay Avenue, and Clay is closed from 44th Street north to Louisiana Avenue.

Dooley said the repair is taking much longer than anticipated because of the valve problem. Water is still flowing from the main because the valve cannot be closed.

A private contractor has been called to help city crews and they expect to fix the valve this afternoon.

Dooley said the water main break has not affected drinking water to area residents.

“Once the valve has been replaced, we will start work to repair the water main and hope to have that wrapped up yet today. We recognize and apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused to businesses, area residents and motorists and are working as quickly as we can to return things to normal," Dooley said in the statement.

Source

 

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January 4

New Orleans, Louisiana - Cajun Geyser

A water main break in the middle of Adams Street near Maple poured water into the streets Friday afternoon.

Sewerage and Water Board crews arrived on the scene around 1:30 pm to address the incident.

An hour or so later, the break erupted into a full-blown geyser, showering Adams Street with water.

Water was rising on the sides of the street near several Uptown businesses, creeping up on the tires of some cars.

Source

 

 

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January 5

Atlanta, Georgia

A massive water main break caused headaches for both residents and drivers on Clairmont Road in Chamblee, more than 24 hours after it first happened.

A huge hole opened up in the road between Airport Road and Wingate Road Saturday morning. Residents in the area were without water for much of the weekend after the 30-inch water main break.

DeKalb County spokesman Burke Brennan told Channel 2 Action News that they first had to clear out the water from the hole to determine the cause before they could begin repairing it. Major damage to the road and the sidewalk could still be seen well into Sunday morning.

Brennan says the pipe's age could have been a factor in the break.

Police were on the scene to re-direct traffic away from the area near DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.

Source

 

Sacramento, California

Water main break floods East Sacramento neighborhood

A 16-inch water main broke Saturday morning, turning two streets into ponds and damaging several homes along 39th and D Streets.

Source

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority says that a 30-inch line broke in the Oakland/Bloomfield area near the South Millvale Bridge at Morewood Street.

Two Port Authority stations and a portion of bus routes were closed after the water main break.

The break happened in North Oakland around 6 a.m. and the Neville Ramp, Herron and Negley Port Authority stations were closed as a result, our news partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report.

The East Liberty station is as far as inbound buses can go and outbound buses will make it to the 26th Street Ramp, the Post-Gazette says.

Officials said the water main break exposed a 24-inch Equitable gas line.

“Public Safety is our No. 1 concern,” Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority Director of Operations Tom Palmosina said in a press release. “PWSA crew responded immediately and began isolating the leak.”

PWSA officials said that all efforts are being focused on the gas line.

Source

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January 6

Seattle, Washington

A large water main break on Sunday caused the closure of State Route 20 in Port Townsend near the ferry terminal.

Around 3 a.m., Police and Public Works responded to the 1800 block of Water Street where the break was reported near the Tides Inn and Suites.

Portions of State Route 20 pavement were raised several inches above the original road bed as pressure from the water pushed up to the surface. When crews first arrived on scene they found water running west down the road. At least one business, The Food Co-op, 414 Kearney Street, had flood damage as water rushed into the building.

The closure affects commuters traveling to the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry route.  Detour routes for ferry traffic have been set up through city streets.

Water to at least a dozen businesses and residents was shut off but was restored by 3:30 p.m.

The Department of Transportation will not have materials available to begin repairing the highway until sometime Monday, according to Claudia Bingham Baker, WSDOT communications manager.

Detours will remain in place until crews determine the road is safe to reopen, which would occur Monday at the earliest.

The cause of the break is under investigation.

Source

[Derrick Johnson]

Water Main Break Floods Streets In South Philly

June 20, 2014 8:42 AM

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A water main break in South Philadelphia early Friday morning damaged at least one home and created a traffic headache.

The fire department received a call at about 5:40 a.m. about a ruptured water main break at 2nd Street and Oregon Avenue.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and alerted neighbors to move their cars to avoid damage from the flowing water.

Crews with the water department eventually capped five valves and stopped the rushing flow of water. Water department officials said the main was 12 inches.

The streets impacted are the 200 block of Oregon Avenue, the 2600 block of St. Christopher Drive and the 2600 block of S. 3rd Street.

At least one home on St. Christopher Drive took in water.

As a result of the crash, Oregon Avenue westbound between 2nd and 3rd Streets is closed.

PECO crews were called to the scene to inspect a utility pole that was located right near where the main ruptured. It is believed that the pole shifted as a result of the water and moving soil.

Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/06/20/water-main-break-floods...

Google Maps

[Derrick Johnson]

Broken Water Main In Burbank Causes Street Flooding, Sinkhole

BURBANK (CBSLA.com) — Crews are cleaning up the mess from a broken water main Tuesday evening that created a sinkhole in the parking lot of the Burbank Fire Department’s training center.

Burbank police say the break was reported about 5:15 p.m., with water spewing into the streets surrounding Victory Boulevard and Ontario for at least three hours, causing a sinkhole spanning 20 feet long and 20 feet deep to form in the facility’s parking lot.

Burbank Fire Department Capt. Peter Hendrickson said buildings at the training facility were also affected.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The water flowed out of here into the streets and was handled by the flood-control system,” Hendrickson said. “The problem that we have is this is our training facility, and our EOC [Emergency Operations Center] and it is completely flooded. It has about 6 inches of water inside our classrooms.”

The Burbank fire captain said it’s unclear why the main broke. However, he said his department will be prepared Tuesday evening in the event of any major incident.

“We do have a backup EOC at our police station. So, if something happens tonight – earthquake, large fire, any type of major incident – we can open up our EOC at the police station,” Hendrickson said.

Dozens of neighbors took advantage of the deep runoff.

But police, who closed Ontario and Fairview streets between Victory Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, were forced to clear the area, citing fear of possible power lines that may hit the flowing water.

“We were all running around in the water. We had some donuts that we were surfing down. The kids had their boogie boards and they were surfing,” Alisabeth Boensel said, adding that it’s unfortunate so much water was wasted during a drought.

“It kind of sucks to lose all that water,” she said.

There were no reports of homes flooded in the area. However, it’s expected that 30 residences will not have water until possibly Wednesday morning.

The Department of Water and Power is working to determine the cause of the break.

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/06/17/water-main-break-in-burba...

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break shuts down several Armory Square streets

Syracuse, N.Y. -- South Clinton Street between West Fayette Street and East Jefferson Street, as well as Walton Street between South Franklin Street and South Clinton Street are closed due to a major water main break.

View full sizeSouth Clinton and Walton streets are expected to be closed for more than eight hours.Jacob Pucci | [e-mail]  

The break occurred at around 9 a.m., one Syracuse water department worker said. The water main that broke is 16 inches around, which is considered large.

In addition to the water main, gas, electric and telephone lines run parallel to the pipe and the road closure is expected to last "at least" eight hours, but the one worker said the closure could extend even longer.

He said more road closures could be possible. Stay tuned for updates.

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/water_main_break_shu...

Google Maps

[Derrick Johnson]

Watermain Break Damages Road, Portion of Peach Street to Be Closed For Days

A watermain break causes a sinkhole to open up Tuesday, the size of an entire driving lane.
And that's all causing quite the traffic headache on a busy Erie road this week.

A 3-block portion of peach street, between 26th and 29th, will be closed for a couple days, as crews work to fix the road.

A watermain broke early Tuesday afternoon, and it caused some pretty bad damage to the road.
It happened along peach street, near 29th.

About 9 water works customers were left without water service in the area, but that's expected to come back sometime Tuesday evening.
The road though, could be closed until Thursday, while street crews work to repair it.

There hasn't been a significant change in temperatures. We're used to seeing the cold weather fluctuations cause watermain breaks, but without that, we wanted to know how this could've happened.

Erie Water Works CEO Paul Vojtek explains, "There's a lot of thing that can cause it. We're staring to see charges in the temp of the water. I  noticed it probably went up 20 degrees from last week to this week, sometimes that causes air to be released," said Vojtek. "And usually when you see a big break like this, a lot of times that's related to in the lines. We've been doing some of flushing because we've seen the temperature changes," Vojtek added.

Again, the Water Works estimates the road to be closed to all traffic at least until Thursday.

Source: http://www.erietvnews.com/story/25742752/watermain-break-damages-ro...

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break closes Brewerytown intersection

Sunday, June 08, 2014

BREWERYTOWN (WPVI) --

A 36-inch water main break flooded thousands of gallons of water down a Brewerytown block plus left an intersection shut down.

It happened at 27th and Master streets around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Water rushed out of a broken 36-inch transmission main and ran down Master Street as if it were a river.

"It looked like a waterfall actually. I was happy it was running the other way, downhill towards the park," said Allen Smith.

"I didn't think it was that bad but now I see all the water is gone and it's really that bad," said James Upshaw.

The good news for residents is that this wasn't the pipe that brought water to their houses, so their service wasn't interrupted.

However Carmen Rivera, whose family owns the corner store one block below the break, showed us the mess left behind in the store's basement.

Thousands of dollars worth of inventory was ruined as it floated around in water that reached about the fifth step to the upstairs.

At least one resident also reported basement flooding.

"Water was everywhere. In our basement we didn't know where the water was coming from. We live on a small block and we came up to the end of the block and it was like an ocean," said Monique Kelly.

Once the water receded, at the intersection there was a hole in the roadway about the size of two cars.

The water department blocked off the intersection with concrete barriers and caution tape.

The water department does not have a definitive timetable for when the road will be fully repaired.

Meantime, the Route 7 SEPTA bus and a number of school buses will be detouring around that area.

Source:  http://6abc.com/news/water-main-break-in-strawberry-mansion/101948/

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break douses home, car in Huber Heights

HUBER HEIGHTS —

A house in Huber Heights was drenched Saturday morning after a water main break shot water dozens of feet into the air.

The water department was able to shut off the water supply, which stopped the geyser from falling onto the house and car in the driveway in the 5200 block of Longford Road.

The owner of the house and car told the News Center 7 crew on scene that a chunk of pavement dislodged by the water struck and shattered her car's back windshield.

Neighbors were without water service after the supply was shut off. A boil advisory was distributed to nearby homes.

Source: http://www.whio.com/news/news/local/water-main-break-douses-home-ca...

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break closes Cedar Point for the weekend

Amusement park closed on busy summer weekend

SANDUSKY -- After a major water main break, officials were forced to shut down Cedar Point and Soak City Saturday morning.

A water main break on the main line that supplies Cedar Point, Soak City, and its hotels means that visitors will have to make a change of plans for the weekend.

Cedar Point released the following statement Saturday evening:

"We continue to work with the City of Sandusky to restore water service to Cedar Point. The latest assessment is that the necessary repairs will require several more hours to complete. Once the water main is repaired, there are additional procedures that must be taken to restore water pressure to all areas on the property, and testing that must follow to ensure the systems are working properly and the appropriate water quality is established.

At this time we have made the decision to keep the park and resort properties closed until Monday, June 9th when – subject to any unforeseen complications – we would anticipate resuming normal operations. As the repairs advance throughout the evening and into Sunday we will provide additional updates.

We recognize that this situation has caused many of our guests to be disappointed. We are sorry that this has happened.

All Cedar Point tickets will be honored on any operating day in 2014 where the park is open to the public.

Please visit cedarpoint.com for additional updates and information."

Guests hoping to continue their fun on Saturday are also allowed to redeem their tickets for Cedar Point and Soak City at Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora or at Kings Island in Cincinnati.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, who owns both parks, reached out to hotels guests in the area to let them know about the closing.

The city of Sandusky is currently working to repair the system located under the Cedar Point parking lot.

Source: http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/2014/06/07/cedar-point-closes-...

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water Main Breaks Affect 2 Dozen Businesses Near 41st And Memorial

TULSA, Oklahoma -

"A water line that's at least 50 year old cracked Thursday night in east Tulsa, and by daylight, it had three breaks, interrupting water service at 41st Street and Memorial.

Three separate water line breaks along 41st Street near Memorial Drive have left 24 businesses without water.

The City of Tulsa said the first break, at 7940 E. 41st Street, happened about 5:45 p.m. on Thursday.

The second break took place just before 9 p.m. a few blocks west and another near the 7400 block happened about 6 a.m. on Friday.

The repairs are done on one of them, continuing on the other two, but the city hopes to finish sometime Friday night.

Store manager Tim Griffin marks the waterline from a flood that almost came in the door late Thursday. The water receded, and now there's no danger that anything is coming in the door, including customers.

"Our business is at a standstill until we get it repaired. We have a loyal clientele thankfully, but they're not going to wade through water and cones to get to us," said Griffin.

City crews have been working since late Thursday on a series of breaks on the same line. Three of them hit over a 12 hour span within a quarter mile of each other."

Source : http://www.newson6.com/story/25712604/water-main-breaks-affect-2-do...

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[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break causes problems for drivers, businesses

TULSA, Okla. – A water main break caused a slow down on a busy Tulsa street during rush hour.

Crews were out Thursday night to repair the break near 41st and Memorial. It took them a little over two hours just to get the water turned off so that they could start fixing the line.

“A guy came in and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it was a tidal wave,’” said business owner Renee Stark.

FOX23 found out it was a 12-inch line burst that sent water into the air during rush hour.

“It’s just like a double whammy, especially with the water just like bursting up. There was some agitation going on with other vehicles,” Sean Sanders said.

While the water was rising, business owners said they hoped it didn’t spill over the curb and into their shops.

While it is unclear how the main burst, Tim Griffin said he is angry that it’s happened again.

“This is about the third or fourth time that the water lines have broken,” Griffin said.

“Whenever everything was breaking like at every corner every day when I came into work a new water line was broken. And now here it is summer and we have another water line broke again. So, obviously I think there’s a problem,” said Stark.

Workers told FOX23 it’ll be about 8 to 10 hours before the line will be repaired and the water turned back on.

Source: http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Water-main-break-causes-probl...

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[Howard]

Water Main Erupts in Pennsylvania (Jun 1)

A water line break sent a geyser into the air Sunday morning near the corner of Willowbank Street and Valentine Hill Road, canceling services at a nearby church.

Borough officials shut off water at the scene at about 9:30 a.m., stopping the spray after more than 90 minutes.

Bellefonte police officer Todd Walter, who was at the scene, said the break appears to have been on the water main that feeds the industrial line to the former Corning plant on College Avenue in College Township.

The Church of the Good Shepherd called off services Sunday, the Rev. Frank E. Skies said, because crews were set up near the church and were closing streets, keeping parishioners from reaching the church.

Police said the break was about 50 yards from the church, along Logan Branch stream.

Source

http://www.centredaily.com/2014/06/01/4203789/bellefonte-water-line...