Water-pipe break soaks tracks, building on Harbor Island

A water-pipe break on Harbor Island Wednesday evening released more water than an Olympic-sized swimming pool holds, flooding railroad tracks and a freight-storage building, a city utilities spokesman said.

City workers received a call reporting the 12-inch water-main break in the 3200 block of 16th Avenue Southwest about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Seattle Public Utilities spokesman Andy Ryan said.

Water was cut off by 10:20 p.m., Ryan said, with service restored by 1 a.m. today.

Utility workers installing new water service in the area might have improperly installed new piping, causing the breakage, Ryan said.

"Our water superintendent said it looked like there may have been a problem with the installation," Ryan said. "We're still investigating."

In all, about 860,000 gallons of water (about 200,000 gallons more than in an Olympic-sized pool) escaped the ruptured pipe, Ryan said. It flooded across nearby railroad tracks, with most dumping into the Duwamish Waterway, he said.

"There was a rail freight building right in the area, and the water flooded onto [the building's] concrete floor," Ryan said. "Sand and rocks were washed in."

"It didn't look like substantial damages," Ryan added. "But we're still assessing that."

Water and sand also washed across the railroad tracks that serve that building, Ryan said. Workers "were trying to clear those," he said.

Lewis Kamb: 206-464-2341 or lkamb@seattletimes.com