PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Water Department has managed to stop most of the flow of water from a huge water main break in Southwest Philadelphia, and water service has been slowly returning to parts of the affected area.
However, there was still a huge, muddy mess for crews and residents to clean up Wednesday evening.
A 48-inch water main break flooded a large section of the Kingsessing neighborhood Wednesday morning.
"There was just like a river of water flowing down the street," said Sharell, who lives in the neighborhood.
The magnitude of flooding had substantially subsided by around 8 a.m. A line of mud showed the high point of the water level at its peak.
Earlier, chopper video from broadcast partner NBC10 showed water flowing like a river for blocks. Large chunks of the street could be seen turning and sinking under the surface of the water.
The area is near the top of a hill, and at the source of the break, water could be seen gushing in all directions to the other parts of the neighborhood. The road was buckled, raised up in the center of the intersection of 56th Street and Springfield Avenue about six inches. And rocks and debris could be seen flowing out of the hole caused by the rushing water.
The Philadelphia Fire Department was on the scene early, wading through ankle-deep rushing water. They evacuated several people from their homes in the area.
This was a rude awakening for the entire neighborhood. A lot of residents said the helicopters above woke them up.
Some residents said they had to move their cars because the water level reached up to the doors. Haji Koita spoke to KYW Newsradio while he was attempting to rescue his mom’s car from the river running down their street.
“She was like, ‘I need you to help me move my car! I need you to help me move my car!’ I was definitely sleeping,” he said, laughing.
He was just in time, because Fire Department Deputy Chief Kamau Bright later said no one will be permitted to go to the area to retrieve their car until it has been inspected by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
Salt trucks came through the neighborhood to keep the streets from freezing over so emergency crews could park safely, but neighbors were left to cope with treacherous sidewalks covered with ice and frozen mud.
The best hope was that temperatures rising throughout the day would improve the sitaution.
Many people were worried about the potential for flooded basements, including City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who was at the scene.
"So, you know, there's water everywhere. There's mud everywhere. I'm very concerned about water in people's houses and their basements," Gauthier said.
As she scraped up frozen mud from the sidewalk in front of her home, one woman told KYW Newsradio that her basement did not flood, but she said she lost water service.
"We have restored pressure," Philadelphia Water Department Public Information Officer Brian Rademaekers said Wednesday evening.
"People may be having low pressure, but it should be coming up as the water comes back into the system."
Bright confirmed that the break originated at 56th and Springfield, and he said gas service would be shut off for affected properties.
A PGW spokesperson said they had reports of neighbors nearby smelling natural gas, but the utility took readings and said they did not detect anything.
The flooding affected transit as well. SEPTA ran shuttle buses between 49th and Chester in the Yeadon loop because of the break.
Sixteen Philadelphia schools announced a shift to virtual learning because of disruptions to water service.
• Penrose School
• Little School House
• Henry C. Lea School
• Tilden Middle School
• John Bartram High School
• Motivation High School
• Add B. Anderson School
• William L. Sayre High School
• Andrew Hamilton School
• Avery D. Harrington School
• John M. Patterson School
• William C. Longstreth School
• Thomas G. Morton School
• Joseph W. Catharine School and Catharine Annex
• Mitchell Elementary School
• William C. Bryant School
Sharell, Ariana and their family made the most of it all.
"We received a call from the school district saying the school would be closed," she said.
"Like a snow day," Sharell said, "but a water main day, I guess."
