Water main break closes Brewerytown intersection

BREWERYTOWN (WPVI) -- A 36-inch water main break flooded thousands of gallons of water down a Brewerytown block plus left an intersection shut down.

It happened at 27th and Master streets around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Water rushed out of a broken 36-inch transmission main and ran down Master Street as if it were a river.

"It looked like a waterfall actually. I was happy it was running the other way, downhill towards the park," said Allen Smith.

"I didn't think it was that bad but now I see all the water is gone and it's really that bad," said James Upshaw.

The good news for residents is that this wasn't the pipe that brought water to their houses, so their service wasn't interrupted.

However Carmen Rivera, whose family owns the corner store one block below the break, showed us the mess left behind in the store's basement.

Thousands of dollars worth of inventory was ruined as it floated around in water that reached about the fifth step to the upstairs.

At least one resident also reported basement flooding.

"Water was everywhere. In our basement we didn't know where the water was coming from. We live on a small block and we came up to the end of the block and it was like an ocean," said Monique Kelly.

Once the water receded, at the intersection there was a hole in the roadway about the size of two cars.

The water department blocked off the intersection with concrete barriers and caution tape.

The water department does not have a definitive timetable for when the road will be fully repaired.

Meantime, the Route 7 SEPTA bus and a number of school buses will be detouring around that area.