Water main break causes 'street leak,' buckles Bronx block

A water main erupted under a Bronx street early Saturday, leaving residents without water and causing the asphalt to shift and buckle under a row of parked cars, officials said.

The 5:50 a.m. pipe eruption happened beneath Nelson Ave., temporarily flooding the block between W. 167th St. and W. 168th St. in Highbridge.

The break caused a “heavy street leak,” according to a local legislator, and unearthed the surrounding area to the point that the street began to warp.

A major water main break broke up the roadway in...

A major water main break broke up the roadway in several places on Nelson Avenue between West 168th and West 167th Streets in the Bronx on Saturday November 29, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

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Responding firefighters closed off the road and alerted the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, who’s conducting an investigation, an agency spokesman said.

“DEP is already on the scene investigating and excavating to locate the source of the issue,” Assemblyman Landan Dais (D-Bronx) said on X. “There is an emergency, unscheduled water shutdown affecting residents in the area, and the street is currently closed.”

Dais said DEP hopes “water service will be restored in a timely matter.” In the meantime, a “Water-on-the-Go fountain is available” at Nelson Ave. and W. 167th St.

Water main break causes ‘street leak,’ buckles Bronx block

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