Water main break floods parts of Belleville Main Street, seeps into business basements

A water main rupture flooded downtown Belleville from the corner of Main and Church streets all the way to High Street.

A portion of the street was closed to traffic for more than an hour. Water spilled over street curbs and encroached on business entrances.

Ameren employees shut off the power while firefighters surveyed each business along Main St. for damage to basements.

The break occurred between High and Charles streets, said Anna Kubas, a spokesperson for Illinois American Water. Some businesses and residents in the vicinity are without water service. Once the main is repaired and service restored, a boil order will be in effect. Those customers have been notified by phone, Kubas said.

At 8:07 p.m. Illinois American sent a release indicating that the water main has been repaired and service restored to this impacted by the break and the boil order issued.

“When the boil water order is lifted, customers will be notified after tests confirm water meets all regulated quality standards,” the release stated.

Owners on the south side of Main were spared basement floodings, but their north-side neighbors weren’t so lucky.

Tom Wodarczyk, owner of Green Root Gallery on Main St., made his way through the dark to find almost two feet of water and rising in his basement.

“I just moved a bunch of stuff down here, too,” Wodarczyk said.

Bennie Parr, owner of Bennie’s Pizza Pub, rushed to the scene as soon as he heard what was happening. He said his first order of business was damage control.

“As soon as I heard what was happening we immediately started shutting down all the ice machines, all the water. I’m glad we caught it immediately,” he said.

A stretch of Main Street and Illinois Street, in a one-block radius of the Public Square, was closed for about three months over the summer as Illinois American replaced water main pipes. The work extended from A Street to Washington Street on Illinois and from First to High streets on Main.

Kubas said the cause of the break has not yet been determined, but it is not related to the summer project.

“It’s just a complete coincidence,” she said.

This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 1:28 PM.