Water main break drenches part of downtown Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — A large water main break sent an estimated 14 to 15 million gallons of water gushing through downtown Philadelphia streets and onto sidewalks, cutting power to thousands of customers.
Water crews were able to stop the flow of water at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, after more than three hours of flooding that snarled the morning commute and prompted rerouting of some city buses.
Peco said 700 to 750 customers remained without power by midmorning, down from about 2,000 at the height of the flooding. In some cases, water had to be removed before power restoration efforts could begin.
Water department commissioner Debra McCarty says a recent inspection using technology that goes inside the pipe turned up no problems. She said she didn’t believe the recent heat was a factor.
