Aug. 28--The Chicago Fire Department shut down an 80-year-old water main after a break sent water gushing into the street in the Fulton River District on Friday morning.
The break occurred at Fulton and Canal streets, according to Chicago Department of Water Management spokesman Pete Scales.
Though the break was about half a mile from the Ogilvie Transportation Center, Metra commuter rail service was not affected, according to Tom Miller, a spokesman for the agency.
Scales said they got word of water leaking in the street shortly before 7:30 a.m. The Fire Department responded and shut off a 12-inch water main that has been there since 1935 and runs under the sidewalk on the west side of Canal, Scales said.
Workers and residents in nearby buildings never lost water service because secondary lines kicked in.
As of 9:40 a.m., most of the water had been sopped up and workers from Streets and Sanitation swept debris away, but Canal remains closed from Lake Street to just south of Kinzie Street where the railroad tracks are, Scales said.
"It's under control, that's for sure," Scales said.
An investigation is under way, and it's not known why the break occurred.
Check back for updates.
