A massive water main break in Cockeysville on Friday morning flooded York Road and nearby streets, leaving residents and businesses without water as crews scrambled to contain the damage and begin emergency repairs.

The 30-inch pipe beneath York Road burst around 9:30am, carving open the asphalt between Ashland and Shawan roads and turning the otherwise busy Hunt Valley corridor into a gushing stream for hours.

Baltimore City and County officials said there is no clear timeline for when water service or road access will be restored. Residents north of Shawan Road are being urged to conserve water as the county prepares bottled water distribution for those who will remain without service in the coming days.

“Right away the water gushed out immediately,” said Mike Gaunt, an employee at Brooks-Huff Tire and Auto Center. “It’s pretty wild to see a water main break out front like that. I’ve never been so close to one.”

The water didn’t slow until shortly after noon.

Baltimore County Police suggest drivers use Shilling Road as a detour while the affected section of York Road remains closed.

Many residences and businesses within half a mile of the break lost water service entirely or are experiencing low water pressure for the foreseeable future, said Matthew Garbark, acting director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.

He said it’s unclear when DPW workers will be able to fix the pipe and restore water service.

Repairing the road after the water line is fixed is the responsibility of Baltimore County, according to Lauren Buckler, director of Baltimore County Public Works and Transportation.

“That area is served by a 1 million-gallon water tower, and that water tower, while it has water in it right now, it is not being refilled while this break repair is occurring,” Buckler said.

Pallets of bottled water will be distributed to areas that do not have water restored soon, Garbark said.

Residents and businesses can call an emergency operating line at 410-887-5210 to be added to a list of those who need water. County employees will help distribute water to those listed.

‘It looked like Old Faithful’

Samantha Giancola, co-owner of Bagel Works, said she called 911, and the police and fire department showed up around 10:15 a.m.

“The intensity of the water is making the road split open,“ said Giancola, as large pieces of the pavement lie hundreds of feet away from the road.

The last time that this stretch of road experienced a water main break was five years ago, Giancola said, “and it was not nearly as large as this.”

Bagel Works closed Friday morning when it lost access to water. With 15 employees, Giancola is concerned that they won’t have income while they wait for the water main to be fixed.

“This is the time where we can help each other and come together as a community to support our strip. Come to the corner of Ashland and get an oil change. It’s things like that, the simplest things, that will make an impact,” Giancola said.

Alex Shields works at a desk with a window facing the water main break at Diamond Exchange. He said it began with a trickle rushing into the roadside drains. He called his co-workers outside as a bubble seemed to form in the pavement in the middle of the road till it burst.

“The water shot 20 to 30 feet in the air. It looked like Old Faithful,” Shields said, referring to Yellowstone National Park’s geyser.

While the amount of water that escaped is unknown, it spewed for hours into the late afternoon, turning the road and its side streets into something like a stream.

There have been minor water main breaks in the past five years that have affected water lines under York Road.

Buckler said the water infrastructure on the entire stretch of York Road is aging, and she confirmed that there are plans to replace the entire water line that are currently in a design phase.

The precise cause of the break is unknown. DPW crews had not been able to get underground to inspect the pipe, as of 5 p.m. on Friday.