Water main break causes damage to Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood; hazmat crews called to scene

PITTSBURGH — A massive water main break has flooded and caused damage to an intersection in Pittsburgh‘s Banksville neighborhood.

Click here for photos from the scene.

The break is near the intersection of Banksville Road and Potomac Avenue in Pittsburgh‘s Banksville neighborhood. Crews were first called to the scene at around 9:30 a.m.

Pennsylvania American Water said a 20-inch water line broke there. It was shut off in just over an hour.

The water damaged several nearby businesses and homes.

A corner shop closed for multiple years and several garages were among the buildings impacted.

“I got customer cars outside...my car. It’s a mess. It’s coming up inside the building,” said Steve Tallet, owner of Steve’s Auto Interior Repair and Detail.

Police say one of the garages had been storing several vats of oil inside, which came spilling out and into the street during the water main break.

Hazmat crews are laying mats down to soak up some of that oil.

Firefighters say they do not know how much oil leaked, but called it “substantial.”

The Department of Environmental Protection and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewage Authority were also called to the scene.

Pennsylvania American Water has isolated the main leaks to Potomac Avenue in Pittsburgh and Mattern Avenue in Dormont.

50 customers in Pittsburgh and 60 people in Dormont were impacted.

Both breaks were fixed by 9 p.m., but road closures were still in place.

Patti Milletary said she was told it could be up to 16 hours until she’s allowed back to her home.

“We just got a new hot water tank and finally got a hot shower and now we have no water again so yeah, we’re stressed out,” Milletary said.

Another person we talked to is worried about the state of his car.

“I’m worrying about my car. Usually on the weekends, I’m an Uber driver, so I’m worrying about flood damage and how bad it might be,” Randy Keller said.

PAW is working with a contractor to assess damage caused by the break.

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