By reporter Steven Smalley
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(CORRECTION 10:12 PM) Work on new natural gas pipes near the corner of 34th Avenue West and West Lynn Street caused a water pipe to break, stopping service to four Village businesses, according to witnesses, while sending a small river of water toward Uptown Espresso.
Crews were furiously pumping water into the street while working to get the break repaired while business owners and employees fumed.
?They said somebody missed marking for the water line. They broke into the water to our buildings,? exclaimed Nancy Van der Wel, ex-wife of the late Art Van der Wel and bookkeeper for his estate. ?There are four active buildings here that have no water, one being a restaurant. They are going to have to close their doors for today,? she said.
Last week markings were sprayed with white paint south of West Lynn Street down the hill to 33rd Avenue West. Work began in earnest this morning as crews used machinery to break into the street and dig trenches for natural gas pipes. Workers mistakenly hit a functioning water line mid-afternoon.?Kinnaree Thai Cuisine (3311 West McGraw Street) was hit hardest by the water stoppage.
?I?ll have to close down. There?s no water,? said one restaurant employee. ?I asked them, if it gets closed down I don?t get paid, and I wanted to know who is responsible. They got quiet. No one gave me the answer.?
Word from witnesses said it could take up to three hours to fix.
?We didn’t get notice or anything from them,? adds the Kinnaree employee. ?They didn’t even walk up here to say sorry about what happened.?
?The guy said you?ll have to put in a claim for the lost business due to the water being shut off,? explained Van der Wel.?
Service was restored about 4:15PM, without explanation to businesses from any agency representative.