University rushing to fix broken water main

University officials said they do not yet know the cause of the water main break.

Officials examine a map of water lines throughout Main Campus after a water main burst at 13th and Norris Streets Wednesday morning. PATRICK CLARK / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Sometime between 9 and 9:30 a.m. water broke through the asphalt at the intersection of 13th and Norris streets disrupting traffic for students and vehicles. Police quickly blocked off the scene as hot steam billowed from the crack in the intersection and the street vents and water flowed south down 13th Street and east along Norris Street.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the Philadelphia Water Department was on the scene at around 10 a.m. PWD and Philadelphia Gas Works could not immediately be reached for comment.

“It just broke underground,” said Bill Schweizer, a facilities manager at Temple. “[The water main] should be [fixed] by tonight.”

Collins Yeboah-Afari, (left) a sophomore mathematics major, and Alyssa Ghilardi, a senior communication studies major, look at the water flowing by Speakman Hall from the broken water main at 13th and Norris Streets Wednesday morning. PATRICK CLARK / THE TEMPLE NEWS
Collins Yeboah-Afari, (left) a sophomore mathematics major, and Alyssa Ghilardi, a senior communication studies major, look at the water flowing by Speakman Hall from the broken water main at 13th and Norris streets Wednesday morning. PATRICK CLARK / THE TEMPLE NEWS

A TU Alert sent around 11:30 this morning said water service to Peabody Hall had been “interrupted”. Schweizer said because the residence hall does not have water, workers are trying to complete repairs by tonight. He added that while pipes usually burst during the winter, it is possible for something like this to happen during the fall.

Schweizer said “years and years of overhead traffic” could have caused the flooding. He said this water main break is not related to the water main that broke three days ago at Broad Street and Montgomery Avenue.

“They’re different lines,” he said.

Kelly Brennan can be reached at kelly.brennan@temple.edu.

Patrick Clark contributed reporting.

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