Pine Street between 46th and 47th has been closed to through traffic for days due to a water leak and a sinkhole. Residents reported the leak at the beginning of last week, and then a Water Department truck responding to the call fell in the sinkhole on Friday, Jan. 12.

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) reports a significant increase in customer service calls in January 2018, which is causing a growing backlog. A lot of the calls are reports of water main breaks in the city. For comparison, in January 2017, there was a total of 117 water main breaks for the month. In the first 15 days of January 2018, some 176 water main breaks were reported. As of January 17, the Department still had 170 leak investigations outstanding.

“We are doing our best to get those assigned and inspected,” reads a PWD statement. “We have crews working at an almost 24/7 pace right now, and we are attempting to address each issue brought to our attention as quickly as we can.”  Continue Reading

Water gushes under the 4200 block of Market Street (Photo by West Philly Local).

An early morning water main break on the 4200 block of Market Street shut down this section of the street and affected some nearby buildings, according to reports. The break, which happened at around 4 a.m., flooded the basement of the fire house on the 4200 block of Market St. (Engine 5/Ladder 6) and also affected service at FMC Dialysis center due to interrupted water supply.

About five feet of water accumulated in the fire house basement, and firefighters were working this morning on pumping it out. The fire house equipment was not affected by the flooding, and it remains on active duty, 6ABC reports.

Basement of Engine 5 ladder 6 flooded after water main break this morning. Still running operations via generator. pic.twitter.com/L5kGHx5yEW

— Matt DeLucia (@MattDeLucia) May 16, 2016

The water department crews are currently working to repair the break. The 4200 block of Market remained closed as of 10:15 a.m. on Monday.

A large water main break on North 52nd Street near Wyalusing caused flooding and evacuations of several homes, according to various media reports. A 36-inch water main on the 500 block of North 52nd Street burst at around 5 a.m., causing massive flooding on the street. About a dozen of vehicles parked on the street were partially submerged and many homes were evacuated.

Massive flooding due to a water main break at 52nd & Wyalusing. Reports of people trapped. @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/zbbfwyaW1y

— Andrew Adamson (@AndrewDAdamson) June 14, 2015

Philadelphia Water Department crews were able to shut down the flow of the water by 7 a.m. and by 9 a.m. most of the water receded. Police, firefighters and utility crews continue working on the scene. Continue Reading

A water main break was reported this morning, around 7:40 a.m., on Locust Street by the Parent Infant Center. As of 8:40 a.m., the street is closed to traffic between 42nd and 43rd. (Photo by Veronica Alvarez).

UPDATE 2: Water came back on around 4:10 p.m., according to neighbors.

UPDATE: We spoke to the PWD workers on-site at around 2:40 p.m. and they said that the water main break should be repaired by 4 p.m.

City Water Department crews have responded this morning to a water main break on Osage Ave between 49th and 50th Streets. A number of households in the area lost water service due to the break. Neighbors reported that there was no water at their homes as early as 6 a.m. We’ll keep you posted when we have more information.

Photo by West Philly Local reader Daniel Chen.

Archived photo/Joel DeGrands.

This afternoon, some West Philly Local readers reported to us that there was no water service around S. 45th and Baltimore/Springfield. We contacted Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) for details but found out that no one had reported the problem to them yet. When there’s a disruption in water service, please make sure to call Water Emergency Hotline at: 215-685-6300 and provide your exact address so that PWD can dispatch their crew, PWD spokesperson Laura Copeland told West Philly Local.

Since this is the season of water main breaks and frozen pipes PWD would appreciate if residents let them know without delay if there’s a problem with water.

By the way, the water service at 45th and Baltimore was restored at around 3 p.m.