Water-main repairs complete at 14th Street and 1st Avenue; partial reopening expected soon

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

There is progress to report at 14th Street and First Avenue following Monday afternoon's water-main break. 

A Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson told EVG that repairs to the water main are complete and water service was restored to all affected customers earlier this week.

"DEP is currently preparing the work site for Con Ed to take over [this] evening to make repairs to their infrastructure," the spokesperson said. 

At that point, the roadway is expected to partially reopen, and MTA service through the intersection will be restored. 

The intersection has remained closed to traffic while crews worked at the site following the break, which flooded the intersection and nearby streets Monday afternoon. 

As previously reported, DEP crews had excavated a large section of the intersection while assessing the damage and coordinating with Con Edison on repairs to its infrastructure.

Update: Repairs continue after water main break at 14th Street and 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Work continued today at the site of yesterday afternoon's water main break at First Avenue and 14th Street, where crews have expanded the excavation area as repairs move forward.

Traffic remains restricted in the surrounding area, and the Department of Environmental Protection has set up a mobile "Water on the Go" station on 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A for residents and businesses affected by the water shutdown. 

According to a DEP spokesperson: 

DEP crews remain on the scene and are working with Con Edison to assess the infrastructure to make way for repairs. At this time the water is shut off for some consumers in the area, so DEP crews have set up a mobile water fountain on 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.

As reported last night, the water main broke shortly before 5 p.m., sending water rushing across the intersection and into nearby basements. 

DEP officials said the break prompted a temporary shutdown of water service to some buildings on the east side of First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

The cause of the break remains under investigation.

Water main break floods section of 14th Street and 1st Avenue

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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No water on 7th Street (but plenty of DEP notices from the de Blasio era)

Residents and businesses along Seventh Street, between First Avenue and Second Avenue (and parts of Second Avenue), remain without water after a break in the early morning hours.

The rupture occurred on the east side of Second Avenue at Seventh Street around 2 a.m., one EVG reader said.

... and the alleged offending pipe..

Businesses on Seventh Street, such as Abraço, were forced to remain closed today...

The city set up a portable water station for residents on the SW corner of Seventh Street and First Avenue (photo by Derek Berg) ...

And the posted notices on buildings from the DEP ...

... still list Bill de Blasio as mayor...

A water main break on 7th Street at Avenue C

City crews continue work on Seventh Street just west of Avenue C... there was a report of a "water condition" here at 1:13 a.m. ... (A reader told us it was a water main break...)

Water Condition: Expect emergency personnel and traffic delays in the area of East 7th Street and Avenue C in Manhattan. Consider alternate routes. Multilingual & ASL Link: https://t.co/1AMbHyhIEU.

— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) April 24, 2022

Seventh Street is closed to through traffic between Avenue B and C.

Another reader reported that the city has shut down the water to the block. (This after low water pressure last night.) 

Hopefully, this is something that can be repaired quickly...

Sinkholes forming in the freshly repaired intersection on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Last Wednesday night and Thursday morning, DEP crews repaired the ruptured water main on First Avenue and Seventh Street — the second such break in a week. 

Now just a few days later, a tipster points out two budding sinkholes in the intersection...

Hopefully none of this leads to another disruption for nearby residents or businesses ... the water that gushed for several hours from the broken main last Wednesday night flooded basements along Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.

Also, as a reminder, this intersection saw several sinkholes (and a broken pipe) in March 2018. Revisit our post on it here.

1st Avenue back to being 1st Avenue-y

All lanes of traffic are back open today on First Avenue at Seventh Street ... this after five days of repairs for the sinkhole/swallow hole/collapse due to a broken pipe... which backed up traffic all the way south to ____ during that time...



... there appeared to be a sinkhole setback last evening, as this photo via EVG regular Raquel Shapira showed...



Anyway, all good now.

Reader report: Water main break on 7th Street

An EVG reader shared this from late this afternoon... when workers from Express Plumbing Sewer & Water Main Corp. were working outside 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue "going crazy. Cowboy style."

Per reader Andrew Bushong:

They dug two giant holes in the sidewalk and street. Around 5 p.m. they broke a main. City was called and now they're "supervising" the same plumbers while eating cupcakes. I'm a bit pissed as they've turned off water for the block on the eve of a blizzard.

And this has caused seceral businessed to close early, including Desnuda and...

Our EAST VILLAGE (125 E7) shop has closed for the night. Apparently a water main burst, somebody's water broke, or something. cc @evgrieve

— Big Gay Ice Cream (@biggayicecream) March 14, 2017

[Updated] Water main break on East 7th Street; no water between B and C today

Dave on 7th reports there is a water main break on East Seventh Street at Avenue C. Crews are on the scene now — since roughly 4 a.m. The water has been shut off here on East Seventh Street for the time being. DEP notices say that the water could be off for up to 16 hours ... one resident has already expressed his or her sentiments on this flyer ...


[Photo by Robert Miner]

Updated 8:19 a.m.
The scene now on East Seventh at Avenue C via EVG reader Steven Matthews...



Updated 5 p.m.
Dave on 7th says that water service has been restored.

[Updated] Water main break on East 13th Street

@evgrieve huge water main break on 13th&2nd!! Flooding fast ! twitter.com/whiskandanchor…
— melissa (@whiskandanchor) February 7, 2013

1:24
Apparently the water is coming from the Mystery Lot construction site!

1:27
The NYPD is on the scene!

[Via @whiskandanchor]

1:44
A shot from East 13th Street, where a water main broke ... water still bubbling up from the depths... FDNY on the scene... photo via Marjorie Ingall

2:11
Report from the scene: The bubbling water has subsided. An inch or so at its deepest on East 13th Street...

2:23
Some photos via EVG reader Katja a little earlier ...

Con Ed is at the scene... and gave the all clear on electric and gas... However, an unknown number of residents will be without water for several days, according to what officials told Katja.

3:17
DEP on the scene ... photos via Katja...

4:55
Workers are digging into the guilty party...

Breaking AND developing: No water in the East Village?

After the major water main break on Broadway and East 23rd Street about 10:40 ... we're hearing from various people in the East Village who say that their water has been shut off... (haven't heard anything official from the city about the water...)

@evgrieve we have no water at 2nd ave and 4th st. Hearing tales of a water main break in flatiron district. Wondering what the impact is.

— Erik (@ErikMKlein) February 1, 2013

@evgrieve 14th street and 1st avenue has no water.

— 14thStreetY (@14thStreetY) February 1, 2013

After water main break: RT @evgrieve Getting reports from all over the EV — no water.

— A Great Big City (@agreatbigcity) February 1, 2013

An update from the Twittersphere...

@evgrieve no water in Greenwich Village

— Joe Peltier (@AwesomeJoeP) February 1, 2013

And readers from the neighbor our reporting in via the comments...

[Updated] Reader report: No water (or sleep) on East Ninth Street

EV Grieve reader MP sent along this photo, noting that work crews were busy here overnight on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue repairing a broken water line... we understand the water was shut off on the block...and it was running a mucky brown. Any updates?

Updated 7:08 a.m.
The workers got the job done... water is back on this morning... the street is patched back up...

More on the East Fifth Street water main break

A follow-up on our previous post... There was a water main break this morning on East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Several residents said they have been without water since 11 a.m. There's no word on when the DEP will restore service... signs on doors to the buildings say it will be off for "approximately 8 hours" ... Uh, so that would make it 7 p.m.

A few places are closed... (including Goat Town) If you have plans along here tonight at a drinking or dining establishment, then you may want to call ahead... There will likely be some delays in opening...

Water main break shutters Goat Town for tonight

Earlier this afternoon, we heard reports of a water main break on East Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... (One resident noted some brown yucky tap water...)

Anyway, here are a few shots of workers at the scene... (photos courtesy of Jaime Darrow)

According to its website and Twitter account, Goat Town is closed tonight because of the break...