Water main break in Riverdale, Bronx floods construction site
RIVERDALE, Bronx (WABC) -- Emergency units were called to a water main break in Riverdale late Wednesday morning.
Citizen App video taken from a construction site near 160 Van Cortlandt Park South shows water turning the building zone into a churning, muddy swimming pool.
City officials say a private contractor was performing work for a building under construction at the site when it struck the 24-inch distribution main, causing the break.
The Department of Environmental Protection was able to isolate the break and reroute the water supply so that no businesses, buildings, or households were without water.
The timeline for repairs is currently unknown as officials say the site is being assessed for safety.
"We immediately dispatched our units into the neighboring buildings and construction site. We started to evacuate those areas as the water started to fill basements and the construction site," said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Mike Woods. "Our main concern right now is the water that entered the construction site. It is a fairly large construction site, 300 by 300, with a 300 foot tower crane in the middle of the site. When water gets into these areas, we are concerned with undermining the footings for that type of crane. At this time, we have evacuated the streets in the area."
Crews are on the scene to clean up the mess.
Few other details were released.
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