UWS Water Main Break Floods Broadway: Witness, FDNY

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A Thursday morning water main break flooded a stretch of Broadway on the Upper West Side during the coldest day of the year.

A water pipe near Broadway and West 99th Street broke shortly after 9:15 a.m., shooting streams of brown water through the pavement and forcing responders to shut down traffic on Broadway, according to witness video from the scene and fire officials.

Firefighters and the city Department of Environmental Protection worked to shut water off at the site of the flooding. The water was shut down around 10:30 a.m., leaving a number of buildings on Broadway and West 99th Street without service, City Councilman Mark Levine said.

Two-hundred area residents and 20 area buildings lost water service as crews operated in the area to determine the source and cause of the water main break, a spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Protection said.

The city Department of Sanitation also responded to the scene to clear the area of debris and sand that was used to prevent freezing.

With morning temperatures in the single digits, extra firefighters were sent to the scene to help with any "ice conditions" an FDNY spokesman said. Pedestrians should exercise caution while walking in the area, a city DEP spokesman said.

The NYPD remained on the scene of the water main break to help guide traffic. Northbound lanes on Broadway were shut down from West 98th Street to West 100th Street, a city DEP spokesman said.

Witness video showed that water was flooding Broadway from at least four different sources.

Check out the full video below:

The cause of the water main break could not be confirmed.

Photo/video courtesy @Above96th via Twitter