BUCKTOWN — Early Wednesday, water again flooded onto a Bucktown side street, two days after a water main burst on the same street.
Gary Litherland, a spokesman for the city's Department of Water Management, said that the break was caused by another leak of a more than century-old water main that occurred "at or near the previous leak" that led to Monday's flooding.
Litherland said the 12-inch cast iron water main, built in 1886, runs beneath Leavitt Street between Palmer and Milwaukee Avenues. The section where the leak occurred in the 1800 block of North Leavitt Street was shut down by 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and a crew was working to repair the leak, estimated to be completed in a few hours.
There's no way of knowing when the leak started, he said.
"I only know that our investigator arrived at 6:30 this morning and immediately started the shutdown," he said.
Bucktown resident Jeff Solin, who lives in a single-family home in the 1800 block of North Leavitt Street, said he noticed the water outside his front door after waking up just after 5 a.m. Wednesday.
"Another water main break out my door! WTH!" Solin tweeted.
For the last few weeks, crews have been upgrading sewer infrastructure in the 2100 block of West Moffat, which intersects with Leavitt Street. Litherland previously said that the sewer reconstruction project had caused the older water main to be exposed and a combination of age and exposure led to the main break.
The flooding and the fact the water is turned off for dozens of homes has made it challenging for Solin, his wife and their two kids to get to work and school.
"I tried to walk across it, but it went up to my ankles and covered my shoes. There is no smart way to go across to the other side [of the street]," Solin said.
On Jan. 3, Solin and his neighbors were left without heat on a 13-degree day after their gas line was turned off, with no warning, as a result of the sewer project.
"I appreciate that they are doing these infrastructure upgrades, but it seems like terrible timing. It's frustrating they are doing it in the middle in the winter. I am curious as to what makes the middle of winter the best time to do this," he said.
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