Broken Water Main Floods Basement

Plumber John Bilski expected to find a few inches of water in the South Scranton basement he was called to Tuesday afternoon. Instead, he found himself staring into a frigid, waist-deep flood.

"The homeowner called and said we got a leak in the basement, this is what I found," Mr. Bilski said, gesturing toward a door opened to reveal 3 to 4 feet of water in the cellar at 639 E. Locust St.

Seventy-five Pennsylvania American Water customers in South Side lost their water Tuesday when an 18-inch water main broke in the 600 block of East Locust Street shortly after 2 p.m., according to Susan Turcmanovich, a spokeswoman for the water company. Service was expected to be restored this morning, she said Tuesday night.

The break affected customers on several streets in the neighborhood, but the odd-numbered side of East Locust got the worst of the flooding.

"When it came I bet you I could've took a canoe and went down the street," Ann Zaustovicz said.

Ms. Zaustovicz lives at 634 E. Locust Street and said she was sweeping her porch when the water came roaring down her street. "It came, the whole thing, as if the dam broke. It was terrible," Ms. Zaustovicz said. "I'm living here a long, long time, never did I see anything like this."

Mr. Bilski said when he arrived at 639 E. Locust St. at 3 p.m. the basement might have had 5 inches of water. After leaving and returning about 20 minutes later, he said the water had risen more than 2 feet.

"I feel helpless, I don't know what to do," said Mr. Bilski, an employee of Andy Butsko Plumbing and Heating.

Water surged from every crack and crevice in the blacktop on East Locust Street, washing over curbs and sidewalks from South Webster to Prospect Avenues.

Utility workers shut off several valves to isolate the broken main. By 4 p.m. the veritable river rushing down the street had subsided to the equivalent of rain runoff.

The company stationed a water tanker at East Locust Street and South Webster Avenue for affected residents to pick up water, Ms. Turcmanovich said.

The blocks affected were the 400 to 700 of East Locust Street, the 1100 and 1200 of Prospect Avenue, the 1000 of Hamm Court, the 500 of East Elm Street, the 1100 and 1200 of Crown Avenue and the 800 and 900 of Cherry Street, Ms. Turcmanovich said.

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