Water

A section of Walnut Street in Center City was reopened to automobile traffic Monday afternoon after more than a week of repairs stemming from a water-main break, the Philadelphia Water Department announced. The 1600 block of Walnut Street was reopened around 4 p.m., said department spokesman John DiGiulio. On Dec. 8 around 4:30 p.m., a 12-inch water main broke, causing a disruption of service for about 20 businesses and residents in the area. Service was restored the next morning, but the block remained closed to vehicles while repairs were made.

Most Penn State fans with a computer monitor were tuned Thursday to Iowa Western Community College to find out whether record-breaking quarterback Jake Waters would become a Nittany Lion, the most anticipated announcement for a Penn State recruit since Terrelle Pryor in 2008. Sadly for Nittany Nation, Waters' decision did not go the Lions' way, as when Pryor chose Ohio State. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Iowan announced he would attend Kansas State. "I really liked both schools," Waters said at a news conference shown on the Internet.

As he was lowered into the empty water tower to rescue a man dangling 60 feet above the ground, Robert Myers stayed focused on a fundamental principle: Don't look down. "There wasn't a lot of thought - other than reverting back to training," he said. Shortly after 11 a.m. last Wednesday, Myers' Norristown fire company received an urgent call from the Lower Providence Fire Department. Two men had been performing a maintenance operation inside an empty water tower on Featherbed Lane when their equipment evidently malfunctioned.

As he was lowered into the empty water tower to rescue a man dangling 60 feet above the ground, Robert Myers stayed focused on a fundamental principle: Don't look down. "There wasn't a lot of thought - other than reverting back to training," he said. Shortly after 11 a.m. last Wednesday, Myers' Norristown fire company received an urgent call from the Lower Providence Fire Department. Two men had been performing a maintenance operation inside an empty water tower on Featherbed Lane when their equipment evidently malfunctioned.

THE USUAL hustle and bustle returned to a busy block of Walnut Street on Monday after a water-main break forced businesses to close Saturday afternoon during the height of the holiday shopping season. Gaping holes remained Monday on Walnut Street between 16th and 17th, where a 12-inch water main broke at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The street remained closed to vehicle traffic Monday, but shoppers came back despite ongoing construction. "We're used to the fact that things break all of the time," said Lisa Gray, shopping at the Apple store.

A busy block of Walnut Street in Center City could remain closed for days as crews work to clean up a broken water main. The block - between 16th and 17th Streets - is home to retailers such as BCBG, American Apparel, and the Apple Store that have been busy during the holiday shopping season. The stores are still open, but visitors will have to park on another block and may find traffic in the area even worse than usual. A Philadelphia Water Department spokeswoman said the 12-inch water main broke around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, cutting off water service to at least 20 businesses and residents.

A busy block of Walnut Street in Center City could remain closed for days as crews work to clean up a broken water main. The block - between 16th and 17th Streets - is home to retailers such as BCBG, American Apparel and the Apple Store that have been busy during the holiday shopping season. The stores are still open, but visitors will have to park on another block and may find traffic in the area even worse than usual. A Philadelphia Water Department spokeswoman said the 12-inch water main broke around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, cutting off water service to at least 20 businesses and residents.

A water-main break Saturday disrupted the dinner hour and retailers on bustling Walnut Street, one of the toniest shopping districts in the city, during the height of the holiday season. The main shopping district near Rittenhouse Square was flooded late Saturday afternoon when a break in a 12-inch main sent water gushing up through several large fissures in the middle of the 1600 block of Walnut. Asphalt was pushed up in front of the busy Apple store at 1607 Walnut, and most of that block was under as much as eight inches of water, sending streams down other blocks in all directions.

A water main break disrupted the dinner hour and retailers on bustling Walnut Street, one of the toniest shopping districts in the city during the height of the holiday season. The main shopping district in Rittenhouse Square was flooded late Saturday afternoon after a water main break sent water gushing up through several large fissures in the middle of the 1600 block of Walnut Street. Asphalt was pushed up by the water in front of the busy Apple store, and most of that block was under as much as eight inches of water, sending streams down other blocks in all directions.

The Philadelphia Water Department announced Friday that a 17.5 percent rate increase would be phased in beginning Jan. 1. When the last of three water and sewer rate hikes goes into effect July 1, 2014, the average customer's monthly bill will have risen by $10 - or $120 a year - from current rates. The Water Department in February proposed a four-year, 28.5 percent rate hike that would have raised the average bill by $196 a year over current rates. That proposal then entered a public-hearing process, with Community Legal Services (CLS)