A water main break near the Country Club Plaza flooded a street on Monday.
The break occurred at the 4900 block of Mercier Street. Video shows that the water was gushing so hard the road began to buckle.
KC Water says the pipe that broke on Mercier Street was first installed in 1922. There were two other pipes that broke nearby around the same time. One was in the 4800 block of Wyoming and another in the 4800 block of State Line Road. Both of these pipes were also installed in the early 1900s.
*From @KCMOwater:***
Mercier / 49th: Water back by 7:30pm
Wyoming: Water back by 7:30pm
State Line: water back on pic.twitter.com/BGScdIloH4— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) June 26, 2017
There were 95 customers affected in total. As of 4 p.m. Monday, KC Water said crews were working to get water restored as soon as possible, but it could be several more hours before the problem is fixed.
Officials still haven't determined what caused the breaks or if they are related.
The water main break along 49th St. & Mercier St. caused the most damage and left multiple homes flooded.
Around ten hours after it occurred, city crews worked on filling a giant hole left at the intersection.
Closer look at water main that broke at 49th/Mercier. @KCMOwater crews say it was installed in 1922! @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/sq4O6Vp7Ow
— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) June 26, 2017
"The water main exploded in the street and completely opened up a hole," explained neighbor Whitten Pell. "It essentially looks like a street that's completely lifted up in cracks."
John Kline, who works as an artist, said inches of water entered his home after water poured down his street.
"It broke up at the top of the hill and then it kind of just rushed down," said Kline, who lives two doors down from where the main broke. "I think there's about half a foot in my mom's house."
Outside in his driveway, Kline sorted through water damaged paintings and works of art.
Stacks of landscape pieces and wet frames could be seen while a tube going through a basement window pumped water out from the house.
"There is probably at least a $1,000 in damage with canvas and the value of the artwork alone," he explained.
The flooding occurred as Kline and his mother were getting set to put the home on the market.
The house dates back to around a hundred years, but the artist told 41 Action News on Monday that he was able to find a bright side to the situation.
"You just have to be resilient and make new stuff," Kline said. "You have to move on. You got to start on new stuff. A lot of the stuff, I wasn't too attached to."
