Broken water main floods Ravenna homes

A cast-iron water main in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood burst this afternoon and flooded homes near the intersection of 24th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 80th Street.

"It was just like a raging river," said Marilyn Potts, who lives on Northeast 77th Street.

The main break was first reported at 12:38 p.m. and a Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) crew arrived within 10 minutes, said spokesman Andy Ryan. Seattle firefighters also responded to the neighborhood. Two hours later, the 12-inch pipe was still gushing water, Ryan said.

By 3:30 p.m., the water had been turned off. The Seattle Fire Department was pumping water out of people's houses and Seattle Public Utilities was trying to repair a big gouge in the roadway caused by the rushing water.

SPU estimates about 800,000 gallons of water spilled from the pipe. A total of eight homes were flooded or had water in their yards or basements.

SPU expects to have the water main fixed and water restored by midnight. Currently, about 50 homes are without water.

There were no injuries.

On average, Seattle Public Utilities replaces two to three miles of cast-iron drinking-water pipe a year. Nonetheless, long stretches of pipe in the 1,800-mile water system are between 50 and 100 years old.

The most spectacular break in recent memory occurred in May 2007, when a 90-year-old, cast-iron water main ruptured beneath the University Bridge, flooding a street and washing two cars into a sinkhole.

However, city officials said the pipe that burst today was only about 68 years old and wouldn't have been slated for replacement. They're not sure why the pipe failed, but don't believe the age of the pipe was a factor.

The replacement of the old pipes depends on a system that identifies leaks, said Andy Ryan, spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities If there are leaks in the area, crews go in and replace pipe.

Information from Seattle Times archives and staff reporter Emily Heffter is included in this report