"It was crazy:" East side homes, businesses still drying out after water main break led to flooding



MILWAUKEE -- Residents on Milwaukee's east side were still drying out Wednesday, September 20th after a water main broke near Oakwood and Kenwood, flooding streets, homes and businesses.

Water main break near Oakwood and Kenwood



Officials with the Milwaukee Department of Public Works said the main broke some time after noon at Oakwood and Kenwood. The main is a 16-inch main that was installed in 1936. It has only had one other break -- that was in the winter of 2012.

DPW workers Wednesday were busy repairing the busted water main, and while the leaks had stopped, the damage was still being tallied.

"Oh it was flooding down here! We were actually in the back alley and we kept saying it sounded like we were living next to a river," Rico Minucci, who lives on Oakland said.

Water main break near Oakwood and Kenwood



Customers on Kenwood between Oakland and Bartlett were impacted by the break, and flooding impacted homes and vehicles in the area.

"There was -- underwater basically. Doors were submerged. It was crazy," Minucci said.

Oakland Cafe



At the Oakland Cafe, water poured into the basement, but thanks to quick thinking by the employees, there was no serious damage.

"Right now we're pretty much recovering from it, and we didn't get any damage. Thankfully for my brother -- he was here. Thankfully they shut (the water) off from the city, and that's when they started cleaning up, and everything went smooth after that," Audey Abdallah said.

On Wednesday, you could still see remnants of water on the sidewalk, dirt in the street and sludge in the grass, but for the most part, it was back to business as usual.

Water main break near Oakwood and Kenwood



A spokeswoman with the DPW sent FOX6 News a statement on this water main break, saying in sort that repairs are ongoing and will continue into early next week.

Water main break near Oakwood and Kenwood



Water main break near Oakwood and Kenwood



It's unclear what caused the water main break, but officials noted residents have drinking water and emergency crews have access to water in fire hydrants in the area if needed.