Pumping Station Problem Leads to 5 Busted Water Mains

Some 19th Ward residents may be faced with flooded streets or basements after a pumping station malfunction resulted in five water main breaks in Beverly and Morgan Park.

The Roseland Pumping Station, located about two miles outside of the ward, briefly shut down Wednesday morning, said Ald. Matt O'Shea. When it was restarted existing weak spots in the water system were pressured, causing five water mains to break Wednesday morning. 

"Some of these are 80 to 100 years old," O'Shea said. 

Crews are currently working on all five breaks and some repairs are moving quickly. Depending on the severity of the break, some repairs may require substantial digging, O'Shea said.

The broken water mains are located on the 8800 block of South Longwood Drive, the 9500 block of South Hoyne Avenue, the 1700 block of West 105th Street, the 1900 block of West 95th Street and the 10500 block of South Seeley Avenue.

The Roseland Pumping Station provides water to much of Beverly/Morgan Park and is itself around 100 years old, O'Shea said.

Some residents were left withouth any water, or weak water pressure for a period Wednesday morning. 

There is no exact timetable for when all of the repairs will be completed, but work is in progress on all of them this afternoon.