BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Crews spent several hours repairing a major water main break in Bethel Park that caused damage to a handful of homes Sunday.
A fast-moving wall of water and mud gushed out of the ground and straight into Justin Lemley’s mother’s home around 11:30 a.m.
“I was right down the street and when I got here, this was just a pool and it was running over there, going about 2.5 feet into my garage and the entire downstairs is flooded,” said Lemley.
He was on his way to his mom’s house on the corner of Logan Road and Wilamit Drive when he got a call from the neighbor.
“I got a phone call from my neighbor across the street, and he said there’s some kind of geyser in your yard that’s flooding your driveway,” Lemley said.
Pennsylvania American Water (PAWC) said an 8-inch pipe broke on Wilamit Drive. Water was shut off for about 17 customers and was restored by 7 p.m.
Lemley’s home and about four others behind his flooded.
Lemley took cell phone video from his front yard showing water rushing down his driveway into his home. He said at least two feet of water flowed into his garage and basement for an hour and a half destroying everything inside.
“I have my entire contracting business in there, let alone my bed and my couch and everything that’s downstairs,” he said.
Lemley’s two cars were also damaged.
“Water was going through the truck and through the car,” he said. “I have two feet of dirt in front of my house.”
Lemley showed Channel 11 the gaping hole in his lawn as crews spent hours fixing the water main and replacing part of the pipe.
The company’s disaster restoration team is helping Lemley and a few other homeowners with water damage.
It’s unclear what caused the break but workers on site said it tends to happen in cold weather.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
