INDIANAPOLIS — A large water main breakon the city's near northeast side has left multiple cars partially submerged and closed an intersection.
According to Citizen's Energy, a segment of East 25th Street between Keystone Avenue and Wheeler Street will be closed for most of the day as crews work to isolate and repair the break.
In a mid-afternoon update, Citizens Energy said they expect the closure to end on Wednesday.
“Disaster — I’m hurt, disappointed. This should have never happened,” George Shephard said as he looked at his 2016 Chevrolet Malibu.
He says the car was underwater by midday Wednesday.
“I get maybe 25 to 30 feet and I hit water. As I tried to move forward a bit, the water just rushed under my car and picked it up,” Shephard said.
The 72-year-old says he is just lucky to be alive. A man came out of a home nearby and helped him get to safety.
“I walked home, and my wife said 'What’s wrong? You’re soaked.' I said my car got stuck,” Shephard said.
Shephard, like many others, felt the impacts of Wednesday’s water main break.
Many people told WRTV they were without water a majority of the day.
By Wednesday at around 5 p.m., most of the water had receded.
“They have never seen anything like this,” Raymond Baker said.
Baker says he woke up Wednesday morning to see his neighborhood flooded.
“I saw a gushing geyser at the corner across the street and as I tried to proceed west to head to work, the water was so high, I couldn’t cross the alley,” Baker said.
Citizens Energy says its management team has been on site and talking to people who feel their property has been impacted by the water main break.
They say that each person's situation is different based on circumstances.
At 9:30 p.m., Citizens Energy issued the following statement to WRTV:
Please note that after today’s water main break, water service has--for several hours now--been fully restored to impacted residences near E 25th Street, and that the roadway (between Keystone Avenue and Wheeler Street) will soon be fully reopened to traffic. Crews have been working diligently since this morning to quickly isolate the break, make the repair, clean up water on the street, and reopen the roadway.
If people feel they have damage and have not been contacted, they can call the Citizens Energy Contact Center at 317-924-3311.
