Water main break in W. Toledo

7/15/2013

BY TOM TROY
BLADE STAFFW RITER

The water main break occurred on the corner of Grantwood and Yellowstone streets in Toledo, Ohio.

City crews are working on repairing a broken water main at Grantwood and Yellowstone drives in West Toledo that caused flooding from the sewer system into some area basements and which occurred while workers were fixing a sewer line.

Jim and Karen Nassar complain about their flooded basement.

No injuries or road closures were reported at the neighborhood off Douglas Road, north of Sylvania Avenue.

The city has issued a boil-water advisory in the vicinity of the water and sewer line break.

Public Utilities Director David Welch, whose own home is a few houses away from where the break occurred and who is also affected by the advisory to boil water, said it will be in effect for three to five days.

PHOTO GALLERY: West Toledo water main break

He said the water line has been repaired with a new length of about 15 feet.

Mr. Welch said workers from the water department reported as soon as they could from another water main break.

Director of Public Utilities David Welch said, "they were working on a sanitary line and hit a water line which caused a lot of water to flood into the system." He said the flooding came from the sanitary system.

Jim Williamson, who lives in the 4300 block of Yellowstone, said his basement began to flood at about 2 p.m. today. He said the sewer department hit the water line and the water department wasn't able to be dispatched out to Yellowstone “for about two hours.”

Mr. Williamson said his basement is damaged.

“I had carpeting on one side, that is damaged. I had like three inches of water down there probably. The sad part was I kept looking at it and it kept rising and rising and I kept waiting for the water department to shut it off,” he said.

Since he does not have flood insurance, his insurance provider has also told him that he will have to pay for repair costs out of pocket.

While he's concerned about paying for the damage, he's also concerned about whether a vacant house next door has sustained water damage.

“We don't know who owns it,” Mr. Williamson said, adding that it was previously foreclosed. “We don't know whether or not that has a flooded basement.”

The Toledo police have not been dispatched to the streets.

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