Water main break floods Boston's Boylston Street, leaving businesses without water
BOSTON - Several businesses were left struggling without water Friday afternoon after a water main broke on Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay.
Sinkhole opened up
It happened at around 12:50 p.m. when the Boston Water and Sewer Commission responded to reports of a flood and sinkhole going 5 to 6 feet into the ground.
"It was shocking, the amount of water that came flooding on the streets was a little bit scary," said Fiona Sinclair, a stylist at Sassoon Salon. "It started coming over the sidewalks and then when the sinkhole started happening, people were just running to the window to see it."
Businesses have no water
Water was shut off due to the break, flooding the busy area with brown and murky water. Businesses had to make do with getting water other ways.
"We actually have quite a few people that still have color on their hair, so we have buckets of water that we're heating up in the back, we're heating up the water in the microwave. We've gone to Trader Joe's and bought some more water and so that's what we'll be washing them out with," said Sinclair.
Boylston Street remained closed on Friday evening, as crews worked to clean everything up and fix the break.
"We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or even next week," said Sinclair.
A cause is under investigation but the Boston Water and Sewer Commission said it could have been the cold weather or vibrations from nearby construction work.
There is no exact timeline on when water will be restored.
