By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — An early-morning water-pipe break on East 13th Street forced emergency crews to close the block to traffic Tuesday.
Workers from the city Department of Environmental Protection at the scene said a pipe connected to a residential building between Second and Third avenues burst about 8 a.m., causing crews to dig underground to repair the damaged infrastructure.
The pipe is a privately owned service line that feeds water to the four-story residential building at 206 E. 13th St., a DEP spokeswoman said. The pipe provides water to the building in the case of emergency situations like fires but does not connect to residents' main water supply, the spokeswoman added. She said the pipe should be repaired by about noontime.
Water-pipe breaks occur more frequently during wintertime, when the weather cools and causes pipes to freeze, said an official from the city's Office of Emergency Management at the scene.
Crews were busy pumping water from the site of the break about 9:30 a.m., causing minor flooding on the street, the DEP spokeswoman added.
