Gallons of water gushed from under the street along West Ridgely Road. A 12-inch water main burst just before 5 a.m. Tuesday, turning the street into a stream.
DPW crews spent hours working to fix the broken pipe. We're told a piece nearly 12-feet long needed to be cut out and replaced.
The work took out service for 100 customers, meaning no water for 40 homes, as well as 60 businesses in the area. The Unisex Hair Salon is one of them.
"I came to the door and it said opening at 12 p.m., and I thought oh that's weird,” said stylist Mary Lutz. “So I opened the door and came in, turned the lights on, and Pat came in."
Related: Water main break shuts down road in Timonium
Pat Moyer has been coming to Mary to get her hair done for about 4-years. Tuesday, she was already in the chair when Mary figured out the salon had no water.
"We had a very interesting morning when we found out there was no water,” said Pat. “And there was already color in my hair."
Luckily, the shopping center across the street still had water. So Mary made a quick phone call and then headed over to shampoo Pat's hair.
"I had a black cape on, big black cape, all this black gunk in my hair,” said Pat. “And all these people out here just looking a little strangely at me."
All day, the salon had empty chairs and canceled clients. The broken pipe definitely took a chunk out of business.
"I came in just to call clients to let them know that I wouldn't be able to do their hair today," stylist Michelle Hammen said.
In fact, nearly half of the businesses at Ridgely Plaza were forced to close for the day. We found signs posted on the doors of a handful companies, everything from doctor's offices to restaurants.
For Pat, she's just glad he hair appointment ended up working out.
"We had a few good laughs over it, so it was interesting," she said.
The break was repaired, and service was turned back on around 4 p.m. Tuesday. If your home or business was impacted Tuesday, DPW officials say you need to run your water until it is clear, and they recommend removing any aerators so sediment doesn’t build up.
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