Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
A water main erupted late this afternoon at First Avenue and 14th Street, flooding the intersection and sending water into nearby basements as DEP crews worked to isolate the break.
The break prompted a temporary shutdown of water service to properties on the east side of First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street. (And not the first time there's been a water break here.)
EVG spoke on the scene earlier with Marty Fatooh, Manhattan Borough Commissioner for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
"We were able to halt the leak," Fatooh said. "As of now, we have a shutdown to the city water main in order to address the leak, which is going to affect consumers on First Avenue between East 13th Street and East 14th Street."
Fatooh said DEP expects water service to be restored within the next few hours.
The cause of the break remains under investigation.
"We've got old pipes. Some of these water mains go back over 100 years," he said. "We're dealing with age-old infrastructure, but we get it fixed."
Despite the dramatic scene, Fatooh said there weren't any major impacts to subway service, though some buses were redirected.
"There was no water that came in on the tracks," he said. "The L train is running normally."
Crews will remain on-site to repair the broken water main and the roadway after service is restored.
We'll update this post as more information becomes available. (Update: The city activated its "Water on the Go" fountains on the southeast side of 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.)
Here's an aerial view via NBC 4...
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