A major water break floods downtown Philadelphia

A 48-inch watercourse near Sansom and Juniper streets erupted before dawn on Tuesday, flooding several blocks in Center City on Tuesday morning.

Flooding was reported around 4 am and by 6 am the crews were beginning to reduce the flow, although the alarms triggered by the water entering the buildings persisted early Tuesday

the flooded streets were in an area generally bounded by South Broad Street and 10th Street between Walnut and Chestnut Streets

pic.twitter.com/X526NLBiBi

– Patricia Madej (@PatriciaMadej) July 3, 2018

John DiGiulio, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Water, said it could take hours to completely stop the break, but cleaning and repairs should take a lot longer.

we will be cleansed today, "he said." We are going to have a presence here for a while. "

>> ARCHIVES – BREADS OF L & # 39 WATER: The city must spend millions to repair aging transmission pipes

the rupture would affect the pressure of water in an area extending beyond the Flood area, including parts of Center City and South Philly.Although the number of affected customers and the immediate cause are not known, Mr. DiGiulio said that the increased use of water during the summer months tends to cause stress to the equipment.The region is on the fifth day of a heatwave.

"In the summer, we see an increase in the consumption of energy." water that could exert additional stress on our transmission lines, which usually explains the greatest increase in volume. "The hot days, the summer days, the extra showers, the air conditioning on the move, could certainly be an important factor, but much too early to say." [19659010] The roads are closed in the area. SEPTA tweeted Tuesday morning that several bus lines are undergoing detours.

Rte 9,12,21,23,42,45: A number of buses are diverted into the city center due to a mainline break. See System Status for more details. https://t.co/ZD9eGskG9b

– SEPTA (@SEPTA) 3 July 2018