Another water main break in S.W. Phila.
By Vernon Clark
The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 12, 2009
For William Park and other residents of his block in Southwest Philadelphia, a water-main break early yesterday was an all-too-familiar source of frustration.
The 30-inch pipe broke about 3 a.m. at Lindbergh Boulevard and 64th Street, sending thousands of gallons of water into the 2800 block of 64th Street, flooding rowhouse basements and heavily damaging their contents. A water main broke at nearly the exact location July 11, causing similar woes.
Yesterday's break caused Lindbergh Boulevard to buckle and created a crater at 64th Street.
Park, who has lived on the block for about a decade, said he and his neighbors hadn't been prepared for yesterday's deluge.
"I lost a washer, dryer, and a water heater," he said as he stood next to his mud-covered driveway in the afternoon.
"I was starting to get things back together," Park said, who had bought those appliances after the July break destroyed his previous set. "Now I have to start here fresh again."
And "I'm still waiting for a settlement" from the Water Department, he said, "from the first time in July."
The latest break flooded the basements of about 30 homes, said Laura Copeland, a Water Department spokeswoman. The break in July had damaged about 16 houses, she said.
The cause of yesterday's rupture had not been determined, and it was not yet known if the two breaks were related, Copeland said.
Yesterday, crews were focused on securing the area, removing water from homes, and making the area safe, Copeland said. Repairs to the water main will begin today, she said.
The block of about 50 rowhouses remained without electricity yesterday, although gas service had been restored, residents said.
As Water Department crews used power hoses to wash a two-inch layer of mud from 64th Street, Frank and Mary Bradley said they were angry over the flooding.
Mary Bradley said the July flood had caused about $5,000 damage to their concrete driveway. Frank Bradley said the Water Department still had not contacted the couple about that break.
Copeland said that some residents had not yet completed damage claims from July, and that the compensation process sometimes took longer than residents expected.
"We review the items that have been damaged," she said. "We offer a fair value for them. Both sides have to agree on that fair value, and then we process the claim. If there is any dispute at any step of this process . . . that is going to lengthen the process."
Frank Bradley said he felt the Water Department was overlooking him.
"This is like when they put a chalk line around a body on the ground," he said. "After it rains, everybody forgets about it."
The 30-inch pipe broke about 3 a.m. at Lindbergh Boulevard and 64th Street, sending thousands of gallons of water into the 2800 block of 64th Street, flooding rowhouse basements and heavily damaging their contents. A water main broke at nearly the exact location July 11, causing similar woes.
Yesterday's break caused Lindbergh Boulevard to buckle and created a crater at 64th Street.
Park, who has lived on the block for about a decade, said he and his neighbors hadn't been prepared for yesterday's deluge.
"I lost a washer, dryer, and a water heater," he said as he stood next to his mud-covered driveway in the afternoon.
"I was starting to get things back together," Park said, who had bought those appliances after the July break destroyed his previous set. "Now I have to start here fresh again."
And "I'm still waiting for a settlement" from the Water Department, he said, "from the first time in July."
The latest break flooded the basements of about 30 homes, said Laura Copeland, a Water Department spokeswoman. The break in July had damaged about 16 houses, she said.
The cause of yesterday's rupture had not been determined, and it was not yet known if the two breaks were related, Copeland said.
Yesterday, crews were focused on securing the area, removing water from homes, and making the area safe, Copeland said. Repairs to the water main will begin today, she said.
The block of about 50 rowhouses remained without electricity yesterday, although gas service had been restored, residents said.
As Water Department crews used power hoses to wash a two-inch layer of mud from 64th Street, Frank and Mary Bradley said they were angry over the flooding.
Mary Bradley said the July flood had caused about $5,000 damage to their concrete driveway. Frank Bradley said the Water Department still had not contacted the couple about that break.
Copeland said that some residents had not yet completed damage claims from July, and that the compensation process sometimes took longer than residents expected.
"We review the items that have been damaged," she said. "We offer a fair value for them. Both sides have to agree on that fair value, and then we process the claim. If there is any dispute at any step of this process . . . that is going to lengthen the process."
Frank Bradley said he felt the Water Department was overlooking him.
"This is like when they put a chalk line around a body on the ground," he said. "After it rains, everybody forgets about it."