DPW Repairs On 2 Water Main Breaks In Northeast Baltimore Close Roads

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Department of Public Works crews are hard at work repairing two large water main breaks, both in Northeast Baltimore.

Christie Ileto has more.

Only one lane of northbound York Road is open right now and city crews are working to restore water to nearby residents and businesses.

Orange cones, gushing water and a mountain of cracked asphalt. That's what York Road and Cold Spring Lane looked like from Sky Eye Chopper 13. 

"One big crack came down the street, and the next thing you know, water just blew all over the place, started blowing up out of the ground," Marvin Slaughter, city worker who reported the break, said.

The city said the pipes burst just after noon on Thursday. Slaughter said he immediately reported the break to 311 moments later.

"There's definitely a public safety hazard," he said.

"It was rushing down the street," Linda Wallace said.

Like almost 40 other businesses and homes, Wallace said she has to make do with no running water.

Ileto: "There's no water at your company?"
Wallace: "No."
Ileto: "So what are you guys doing?"
Wallace: "Well, I had to go to the bank and I asked them if I could use their facilities."

While crews worked to clean up the mess at York Road and Cold Spring Lane, the city is trying to figure out if this water main break is related to another one that happened just down the street earlier Thursday morning.

"Just coincidence. Everybody knows it's a very old infrastructure and we're not able to predict when a water main is going to break," Shonte Eldridge, a Department of Public Works spokesperson, said.

But the city said they're working to clean up the debris and restore water to the area. But for businesses like Wallace, she's keeping her fingers crossed that this won't impact business.

City officials add that the water main breaks are not related to superstorm Sandy.

There's no word how long the repairs will take.