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Water Main Break In Kensington Leaves Icy Mess

By Jim Melwert, Justin Finch

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Dozens of homes and businesses are without water as repairs are made to a broken water main in Kensington that caused icy conditions Friday morning.

Around 5 a.m., a six-inch main broke on Hope Street -- a small street that runs parallel to Front Street between Berks and Norris Streets.

Paul Urso lives along the street and says it was sort of a rude awakening.

"I just saw water coming down the street, then I walked down the street and I saw five or six holes where it was just coming out of the street."

He says it looked like a river outside.

Crews shut off the main and put down sand and salt on the icy street.

Once the water supply was shut off, they found the trouble spot, which turned out to be a broken six-inch water line.

Spokesman John DiGiulio said the overnight sub-freezing temperatures may have caused the pipe to burst at about 5:30 a.m. He said crews hope to have the line repaired by the evening.

The ice is limited to Hope Street. Traffic on busy Front Street and on Berks or Norris is unaffected.

The Water Department says there's no reports of any water damage in any homes.

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