CHELSEA — A broken water main flooded neighborhood streets and buildings Wednesday morning, prompting the city to shut down traffic to the area while crews investigated and made repairs, officials said.
The 48-inch water main at West 29th Street and Ninth Avenue ruptured because of a "failed plug," sending water onto the street and into nearby buildings about 10:45 a.m., according to FDNY Deputy Chief Christopher Boyle.
The Department of Environmental Protection, which had been working on the main at the time, cut off the water by 2:22 p.m., about four hours later, officials said.
'A 48-inch main, when it's flowing, there's a tremendous amount of pressure and volume of water," Boyle said.
"It takes a lot of time to shut a 48-inch main. It's done very slowly. You can't just turn it off like a faucet. It takes a long time to shut it," the deputy chief added.
The area bounded by Eighth and Ninth avenues, as well as West 28th and 29th streets, was closed to all traffic immediately after because of the flooding, according to Office of Emergency Management spokeswoman Nancy Silvestri.
The water was brown and filled with dirt.
"It pulled up a lof of rocks and gravel. I've never seen nothing like this around here. The water was going all the way down the street. It's a sight to see," said Jonathan Wiggins, 50, who was passing through the area.
The flooding knocked out power and gas service to some buildings and crews worried about further damage, Boyle said.
"There's a concern with one transformer vault on the west side of Ninth Avenue. Con Ed's on the scene. The transformer vault is being pumped out. Con Ed didn't even have to shut the power to the building," Boyle said.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the main's plug to fail.
The DEP plans to replace the main that ruptured, but it wasn't immediately clear if that's what crews were doing Wednesday morning.
DEP crews were on scene and making repairs after the break, according to spokesman Douglas Auer.
"DEP is in the process of shutting down a water main at 22nd Street. And they're looking to shut down a main on 42nd Street. It should not impact service in the area," Boyle said.
Flooding in #Chelsea on 9th avenue #watermainbreak #holyapostlechurch pic.twitter.com/NsEN8P6r5g
— jennylc (@jennylc) October 12, 2016
