As thousands of gallons of murky brown water flooded the downtown street beneath his feet, Wayne Bradford didn't even blink an eye. It was only early afternoon Tuesday, and the water main break behind a federal building at 1114 Commerce Street was the third one that the Dallas Water Utilities supervisor had handled that day. And he's seen much worse.
"It's just that time of year," he said, sweating under his blue hardhat as he and his crew struggled to shut off water gushing onto Jackson Street. "It was an old pipe, and water demand is up."
About 8 inches of water filled the bassement of the federal building, and some poured into the parking garage of the building across the street, Mr. Bradford said. There were no damage estimates. He said most of the water ran into the streets and down the sewers. "It's just your average break that happens when it gets so hot," he said.
Average daily water usage by people in Dallas and surrounding cities is about 430 million gallons, and water consumption typically soars in the summer. Last week, water usage hit about 700 million gallons each day for the water department's 2.1 million users, said Charles Stringer, assistant director of water operations for Dallas Water Utilities.
That number is still millions shy of Dallas' all-time record, set Sept. 4, 2000, when the water department pumped out about 790 million gallons. That was the day a construction crew ruptured a 30-inch water main about 30 feet under Young Street in downtown Dallas, spilling 20 million gallons of water and causing about $1.5 million in damage. Young, Wood and Jackson Streets were all flooded that day, along with the Santa Fe Terminal Lofts on Jackson Street and parts of two federal buildings. The rupture was a couple of streets over from Tuesday's break.
Andree Regan, who works in a coffee shop downtown, said Tuesday's accident flooded her mind with memories of that soggy Labor Day almost three years ago. "Water was pouring out of every hole in the street," she said, standing behind the federal building and watching the water crew Tuesday afternoon. "It looked like Venice."
Mr. Bradford said Tuesday's break downtown ws nothing like the 2000 mishap, which was one of the worst he's seen in his 26-year career with the water department. Tuesday's accident caused a drop in water pressure at the federal building, but water was not shut off, he said. The break happened about 12:50 p.m., and the water main was closed off around 2:10 p.m. Some visitors were kept outside the building for a short time. "This one isn't even near as bad as that one over there was," he said, pointing to Young Street and shaking his head at the memory.
But Craig Hazen, an equipment engineer who works in a downtown office building, was still impressed with the brown river that spilled down Jackson Street. He stopped to watch the water crew work after visiting the post office in the federal building. "That's a lot of water," he said.