Water Main Break Freezes Into Icy Wonderland

Epoch Video
2/12/2016
Updated:
2/12/2016

A huge water main break in frigid overnight temperatures has turned this Scranton, Pennsylvania intersection into an icy winter wonderland. But it hasn’t been much fun for residents. Houses, power lines, cars, trees---all under a layer of ice after a 12-inch pipe broke around 2:30 am, affecting the water supply to about 30 customers, many of whom woke up Friday morning to this.

Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., dumps rock salt to help melt thick layers of ice that cover a home on the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., dumps rock salt to help melt thick layers of ice that cover a home on the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
A person walks on a frozen section of the the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
A person walks on a frozen section of the the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)

Workmen repair a broken water main in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. ( Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Workmen repair a broken water main in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. ( Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Thick layers of ice form on a street sign in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Thick layers of ice form on a street sign in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Thick ice adorns bushes and trees of a resident's home of the the 400 block of East Market Street in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Thick ice adorns bushes and trees of a resident's home of the the 400 block of East Market Street in Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., breaks apart thick layers of ice on the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. ( Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., breaks apart thick layers of ice on the 400 block of East Market Street in the Green Ridge Section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. ( Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)

Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, pa., walks down the steps of a resident's home covered in ice in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)
Stephen Sunder, a general contractor for First General Services of N.E.P.A. based in Wilkes-Barre, pa., walks down the steps of a resident's home covered in ice in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, after a 12-inch water main broke. (Butch Comegys/The Times & Tribune via AP)