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Recent 48-inch water main breaks in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Water Department says breaks in 48-inch water mains are rare, but not unheard of.

This is the sinkhole that opened up when a 48-inch water main broke at 21st and Bainbridge Streets in Southwest Center City on July 22, 2012.
This is the sinkhole that opened up when a 48-inch water main broke at 21st and Bainbridge Streets in Southwest Center City on July 22, 2012.Read moreAlejandro Alvarez / Staff Photographer

The Philadelphia Water Department says breaks in 48-inch mains — like one that flooded Center City on Tuesday — are rare, but not unheard of. Here are other breaks in water mains of that size that occurred in Philadelphia in recent years.

• Nov. 4, 2016: A 48-inch main burst, flooding a shopping center in Nicetown and forcing dozens of evacuations.

Six million gallons of water were lost before the main was shut off outside the ShopRite at the Bakers Centre shopping center at Fox Street near Roberts Avenue. Water-main breaks occurred at the shopping center in January 2014 and again in June 2015. Another occurred nearby in September 2015. The mains in the area are more than a century old.

• Oct. 13, 2012: A 48-inch main broke at Third and Walnut Streets, spewing about five million gallons of water and damaging the street.

• July 22, 2012: A 48-inch main broke at 21st and Bainbridge Streets in Southwest Center City, opening up a 15-foot sinkhole at the intersection and flooding basements of homes and businesses.

Repairs and cleanup took weeks. The flooding resulted in claims totaling $1.7 million that were not settled for two years.