Sewer line collapse causes massive crater in Delran: officials

DELRAN, N.J. - Officials say a major sewer line collapse in Delran caused part of a residential road to cave-in Monday morning.

Crews surrounded a massive crater in Leon Avenue, using an excavator to dig through debris to get to the collapsed sewer line.

Neighbor Gail Clark took video of the aftermath of her basement after a toilet, out of nowhere, started gushing black water Sunday afternoon.

"It looked like a geyser. It reminded me of a volcano," Clark described the scene. "And it smelled, you could smell it immediately."

Just down the road from Clark’s home, a few hours later, the road completely caved in. Delran’s mayor, Gary Catrambone, says the sewer department was already in the area trying to find a blockage in the sewer line.

"At some point, they were down a couple of manholes beyond that point and they heard it, so they heard the collapse and kind of did a, ‘What was that?’ Came back found that giant hole," Catrambone explained.

Mayor Catrambone says engineers and emergency contractors immediately got to work and brough in a 12-inch pump and pipes on the surface to the line back up and running. He says it’s too early to tell if recent flooding or cold temperatures are a factor. The sewer line is a mostly closed system.

"However you just never know. Was something overtaxed? Was their water infiltrating, was that hole there and it created more of a runoff?" Catrambone asked. "The next step is why did that happen and how do we fix it?"

Neighbor David Ahrens stated, "The trucks had just driven over that thing, so it could’ve got real ugly."

Mayor Catrambone says there are no immediate safety concerns for nearby homes or roadways, but, with how quickly it happened, some neighbors are worried.

"It’s definitely scary and strange," Umar Anwar said.

"It questions the safety of the rest of the road because, I mean, if this is just one section of it, where the sewer junction meets, how safe is it underneath?" Pamela Lohrman questioned.

Clark says they had more flooding briefly Monday morning, but after alerting crews, it stopped. She’s hoping that’s the last of it, "Luckily I had just put the Christmas decorations in tubs so I didn’t lose any of them. What’s the chances of it happening again?"

Officials have asked residents to limit their water use to bathing, flushing toilets, washing dishes and doing laundry. 

Anyone impacted by the sewer collapse who is in need of emergency assistance should call 911.