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10:03 a.m. • 5-20-13

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Published: 2008-07-23 05:33:00
Updated: 2008-07-23 18:27:41

Geyser from broken main floods Raleigh streets


Water main break floods Raleigh streets
Water main break floods Raleigh streets
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A water main break in downtown Raleigh sent about 200,000 gallons of water shooting into the air and forced several streets to close for much of the day.

Wilmington Street, between Martin and Davie streets, was closed until about 3:30 p.m. as crews rushed to pump water out of a flooded parking deck nearby.

"It was going for an hour and a half, shooting 25 feet. It was like Old Faithful," said Mary Floyd Pag, a resident at The Hudson condominium complex across the street.

Residents at The Hudson had to move their cars after the parking lot flooded. Many reported power outages – the main circuit box to the building is in the garage – and low water pressure.

"The power went out in the building, but I went downstairs. There was a foot, a foot-and-a-half of water in the garage already, and we rushed to get our cars out," said Nathan Singerman, vice president of The Hudson Homeowners Association.

"One of the last people who pulled their car out, they said it was high enough to move the car," Pag said.

Since the 12-inch main was new, public utilities crews said they didn’t have a map of the line, making it hard to find the cutoff point.

The break happened around 4:30 a.m. and crews were able to shut off the water main just before 6 a.m. The line was capped by noon as crews worked to repair the damage.

Andy Brogden, water distribution superintendent for Raleigh's Public Utilities Department, said it was unclear how the main ruptured since no one was doing any construction work in the area at the time. He said metal fatigue might have caused the line to fail and rupture.

Although officials said underground utilities work at the nearby RBC Plaza wasn't to blame, the developer of the high-rise, Highwoods Properties Inc., offered free rental cars to people whose cars were damaged and offered to pay for hotel rooms at the Sheraton Capitol Center downtown for residents left without power.

Highwoods also lined up a portable generator to help restore power to The Hudson.

"They've been incredible," Singerman said.

The flooding caused some stores nearby to miss out on morning business.

"I lost the morning traffic, and I lost a couple of vendors," said Taz, who owns a Wilmington Street convenience store. "That's OK. That's what neighbors are for. We all have to be understanding."


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Below is a link to some exclusive footage that NCScoop gathered while on the scene of the water main break. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ac1pNxxLNw

Two things here:

1. The city should not have codes. The state should have codes in which everyone must abide by that are reviewed by engineers once a year. Why? Parking Deck Collapses in Charlotte from codes that ate away at the engineering of the buildings; water mains exploding; buildings faces falling off.

2. Under the current law - who is going to fine Raleigh for loosing all of that water.

3. If you want to alleviate the problem of water in the lake - you have to stop having retention ponds for every building in the city. The water sits there and becomes a health hazzard.

Yes pipe was laid on approved bedding, it was rodded and blocked with 3000psi concrete, Pressure test was conducted and passed, reports filed out daily, backfilled and compacted in 6" lifts! happy? Besides that was not the problem as stated before, it was the vertical 12" BO, the 90 at the bottom which was blocked stayed put, An eye Bolt popped open, the rods twisted and that was all she wrote

Those folks in Raleigh... wasting water again.

If the contractor is reponsible for the waterline break than the contractor will be responsible for the cost of lost water.

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