water main break

Cleanup continues after Center City water main break

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Cleanup continues after Center City water main break

Watch the report from Action News at 4 p.m. on July 5, 2018.

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Crews were hard at work in Center City Thursday cleaning up from that massive water main break, and trying to get businesses back up and running.

A table was set up along 13th Street where businesses affected by the flooding were able to file claims.

Meanwhile, workers from the Philadelphia Water Department, PECO and PGW were all on scene.

See Action Cam video of the damage caused by the Center City water main break on July 3, 2018.

Officials say the first job is making the area passable for pedestrians, then they can set about digging down to repair the broken pipe.

"We need people to be safe. We need our workers to be safe. But we will do everything we can to make sure that businesses are able to get their customers to them," said Debra McCarty, Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner.

Crews were hoping to have 13th Street accessible by day's end.

But the water department did caution that this could take some time. It could take weeks just to get to the broken pipe, and the fix could take months.