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Water Main Break Closes Bucktown Corner, Workers Dig to Fix Pipe: PHOTOS

By Alisa Hauser | February 27, 2015 8:13am | Updated on February 27, 2015 11:00am
 Water main at Armitage, Damen.
Water Main at Armitage, Damen
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BUCKTOWN —  A water pipe burst beneath the southeast corner of Armitage and Damen avenues in Bucktown on Thursday morning, causing flooding in a garden apartment and closed a lane of traffic through the evening rush hour.

"It was well organized. They [Water Department workers] took care of business," said Rhonda Ali, manager of Polonia Liquors, 1956 W. Armitage Ave.

Ali, who watched the events unfold, added, "It happens; we are in the city of Chicago."

Water began to pour into the street around 9 a.m. Thursday.  The flood closed a CTA No. 73 Armitage bus stop in front of PNC Bank. Workers dug a 5-foot-deep hole to get to the broken pipe.

Around 4 p.m. Thursday, crews were still on the scene.  They said an aging cast iron pipe which burst was replaced with a new cast iron ductile pipe.

(l. ) Old pipe, removed, new pipe in the ground:

A boil water notice was issued to businesses and residents along the south side of Armitage Avenue, between Damen and Wolcott avenues, according to notices posted to doors by the Dept. of Water Management. That means nearby residents should bring tap water to a rolling boil to kill potential contaminants before drinking.

The notice states that the boil water order is in effect until biological tests are approved.

Late Thursday, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said that he and Steve Jensen, president of the Bucktown Community Organization, had just finished spreading salt onto the sidewalks, which were icy as a result of the frozen water.

"The Water department fixed it as fast as possible. The pipes are very old and the break was about 1.5-feet long,"  Waguespack said.

A family whose home is in a basement apartment just east of where the pipe broke had all of their belongings ruined by water and moved to an upper floor, Waguespack said.

Pete Scales, a Water Department spokesman, told ABC 7 news that the problem was likely caused by a combination of weather and old infrastructure.

"Another piece of aging infrastructure that, it's time has come and now it is going to be replaced," Scales said.

Armitage avenue reopened to traffic in both directions late Thursday.

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