Water restored to about 60 Mayfair properties after main break floods Elbridge Street

An 8-inch water main burst Friday on Elbridge Street in Mayfair, flooding the block and cutting off water to roughly 60 Philadelphia properties until crews could fix the pipe, according to CBS Philadelphia and FOX 29.

CBS Philadelphia and NBC10 both said the break was reported at about 7 a.m. 6abc located it in the 2600 block of Elbridge, and NBC10 said the spot is close to Roosevelt Boulevard. Residents who spoke with FOX 29 said their taps went dry around 6 a.m.

Denismarie Ramos told FOX 29 the loss came without warning: "My son was in the shower and he heard a loud noise and then no more water." Neighbor Antonio Montanaro told the station he first spotted water seeping from the sidewalk, then returned to find the entire block underwater.

FOX 29's helicopter video captured water rising midway along Elbridge and flowing toward Horrocks Street. NBC10's aerial shots showed parked vehicles sitting in floodwater, firefighters on scene and what appeared to be a sinkhole. 6abc said the pavement had buckled and that officials had not identified a cause.

According to CBS Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Water Department said its workers pinpointed the leak, closed off the main and started repairs. NBC10 reported that around 60 properties still lacked service at 9:56 a.m.

Accounts of the outage's length differ slightly. CBS Philadelphia cited the Water Department as saying taps were back on at roughly 2 p.m., about seven hours after the first report. FOX 29 said crews needed about eight hours to put in a new section of pipe.

People on the block told reporters they could not shower, use toilets, do dishes or clean while the water was off. Montanaro told CBS Philadelphia he got ready for work at his daughter's home. Madeline Fernandez, a home aide who looks after an elderly client in the area, told CBS Philadelphia the outage was especially difficult for those who rely on running water. "These main pipes are old. They need to get fixed," she said.

CBS Philadelphia reported that neighbors remembered a similar break on the same block roughly a decade ago.

Work on the street itself is not finished. To get at the pipe, crews excavated the road and left a sizable hole, CBS Philadelphia said. FOX 29 reported that the opening was packed with gravel and that fixing the pavement falls to the city's Streets Department. No schedule for that repair has been released.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, FOX 29 Philadelphia, 6abc Action News and NBC10 Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/1039