PHILADELPHIA — Two U.S. lawmakers urged Gov. Tom Wolf to declare a disaster emergency in the Kingsessing neighborhood and seek out other local and federal funding to help residents recover from mass flooding caused when a large water main ruptured this week, damaging homes and displacing several people.
In a letter to Wolf on Friday, Reps. Dwight Evans and Mary Gay Scanlon, both Democrats from Southeastern Pennsylvania, wrote that “a swift response is essential to provide support to Kingsessing and the families affected by this disaster,” and asked the governor to consider “all necessary state and local tools” — including a potential state disaster proclamation — in helping to repair infrastructure damage and assisting residents whose homes were affected by the flooding.
The 48-inch, century-old water main burst in the early morning hours Wednesday at 56th Street and Springfield Avenue, sending water gushing through the neighborhood — rushing into basements, surrounding cars and cracking asphalt, causing many homes to lose water, and forcing more than a dozen schools to shift to virtual learning for the day. At least five people were evacuated from their homes.
Philadelphia, built on a network of 3,100 miles of aging water infrastructure, is no stranger to breaks in its mains. On average, the city experiences about 776 water-main breaks per year, with large bursts like the one in Kingsessing happening once or twice annually, a water department spokesperson said.
And it can take months to repair the extensive damage.
Citing reports that repair in Queen Village is still underway and businesses remain inconvenienced after a 30-inch water main burst in July, Evans and Scanlon wrote that they are “especially concerned.”
“A similar delay in response to the incident in Kingsessing would have incredibly damaging effects on both the local community, as well as greater Philadelphia,” the letter said.
The lawmakers also said they are ready to support requests for emergency or disaster declaration at a federal level, and to receive support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They also encouraged Wolf to consider requesting aid from the Small Business Administration to help businesses and homeowners with loans for their expenses and losses not covered by insurance.
A spokesperson for Wolf’s office said in a statement Saturday that the administration is “reviewing the circumstances to determine appropriate next steps,” adding that the office “appreciates the representatives’ outreach on behalf of the community, which is undoubtedly undergoing a terrible ordeal.”
Last year, following historic flooding in Bucks, Philadelphia, and Tioga counties, Wolf called on FEMA to lower the federal damage assessment thresholds required to qualify for federal aid.
A cause of the break in Kingsessing has yet to be determined.
