A gaping hole in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood continued to cause problems Monday, a day after a 12-inch water main broke at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Beach Street.
"We don't know what the cause of the break is, but we do see that there are steel plates at the location where we believe the break is and there was obviously a contractor has been here in the vicinity of the break," Boston Water and Sewer Commission spokesperson Thomas Bagley said.
The 12-inch water main break was discovered just after 2:30 Sunday afternoon, when water began gushing out of the steel plate that was covering an area on Harrison Ave where contractors had been working. Sections of road near the intersection, including Knapp Street, were still ripped up Monday.
"It's a serious problem," said Warren Pepicelli, who manages a building next to the water main break.
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Those contractors had been here working since last Saturday, he said.
"It started last week with a gas leak, so now it's the water leak, so we're hoping that's the end of it," Pepicelli said.
Some surrounding businesses dealt with flooding Sunday afternoon, others were still without water Monday but trying to stay open.
"No notice, oh my God, oh no!" dental hygienist Mindy Tat said.
She had a whole day of patients scheduled at Boston Chinatown Dental Center and was not sure what they're going to do if the water remained shut off.
"It there's no water, how can we work? Oh my God, I need to call my boss," Tat said.
Crews actually had to make the hole here bigger to be able to get at the problem. Water was expected to be restored later Monday, according to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, which cited high-voltage conduits in close proximity to the broken water main.
