Water main break floods Seattle’s University Village

Water flooded the University Village parking lot after a one-foot water main broke under the 45th Street Viaduct in Seattle Tuesday afternoon.

The Seattle Fire Department said the water main was turned off after about an hour, but not before a geyser of water shot half way up to the viaduct. The water receded but the water main wasn’t fixed until 2:10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The viaduct was shut down while the Seattle Department of Transportation examined the support column. Inspectors determined there was no damage to the structure and the road was reopened just before 5 p.m.

The water poured into the parking lot on the southwest corner of the shopping center near Blue C Sushi, lapping at the tires of parked cars.

No businesses were impacted and no cars damaged as a Seattle Public Utilities water truck quickly pumped the water out of the area.

The water prompted fire alarms to go off at some University of Washington buildings.

Crews cut out a 16-foot section of pipe and spliced a new piece into place in order to make their repairs and turn the water back on. The broken section of pipe will be examined in an attempt to determine the exact cause of the break.

The age of the cast iron pipe is estimated to over 80 years old, but that’s considered middle-aged by local standards, said Seattle Public Utilities.