Service restored after water main break on Main Street in Manayunk

Saturday, July 16, 2016
VIDEO: Water main break
A water main broke Friday morning in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood, leaving some people with too much water, others without any service and a usually busy street caked in mud.

MANAYUNK (WPVI) -- A broken water main has been repaired and service has been restored in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood.

The water main broke before 4:30 a.m. Friday on the 4300 block of Main Street, knocking out service on the east side.

Video from the Action Cam at the scene showed mud and debris spread across both sides of the normally busy road.

The break flooded the basements of a number of businesses on the block, including a popular restaurant and adjoining wine bar.

"The restaurant business is full of problems. It's got a lot of moving parts. And this is just one more of those days," said Bruce Cooper, Jake's and Cooper's Wine Bar. "It's usually always on Friday, which is a busy day."

"Frogs are falling out the sky," he jokingly added.

An upstairs tenant woke up this morning to see the mess outside, with police knocking on her door to tell her she had to evacuate.

A water main break shut down part of Main Street in Manayunk.

"The owner's basement's flooded. They're saying we have to go up there and get our stuff at some point," said Chelsea D'Ortone, evacuated resident. "Not ideal, but happy Friday."

The water was still running on the west side, but there was some flooding to some of Manayunk's most enduring restaurants, like the legendary Café Zesty.

The restaurant's owner has his own pumps to deal with occasional flooding, but the café got some damage and was shut down for the day as well.

"I'm not going to be able to open today. I have some water damage," said Tom Konidaris, owner. "Hopefully by tomorrow I will be ready for business."

"We took a hit today, but we're in recovery mode now, and we're trying to get out there that Main Street is open. We're shut down a two-block portion of the district," said Gwen McCaule, Manayunk Development Corp.

The 4300 and 4400 block of Main Street remain shut down at this time. But the rest of Main Street is open and operational.

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