Community Corner

PECO: Sycamore Street Gas Leak to be Repaired Today

Work to fix the gas leak began Monday but nearby residents say they've smelled gas for a while.

PECO officials say they expect a gas leak that has closed a portion of Sycamore Street to be repaired today.  PECO crews began working on the leak Monday.  Since then, Sycamore Street between Richboro Road and Cambridge Lane has been closed.

PECO spokesperson Ben Armstrong said the leak is neither a health nor a safety issue. “There is definitely not a health risk. It was not a safety issue since the gas itself was coming from what we understand was a small leak,” he said.

Armstrong said crews are in the process of excavating and will then cap the line.  An adjacent line will provide service to the area, Armstrong said.

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Nearby residents say they’ve smelled gas for some time and are relieved the issue is being resolved.

The gas line goes through Newtown Township resident Nancy Gracia’s property on Sycamore Street.  She said ever since she moved into her home two years ago, she’s caught whiffs of gas. 

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“I called twice because I smelled gas in and around the house,” she said, adding that PECO crews came out to test the home and said there wasn’t a problem.

“I just let it go. I smelled gas occasionally here and there,” Gracia said.  “What was I going to do? Call PECO every time I smelled something? Which I should have.”

But last week, the stench was unbearable. “I went outside and it just overwhelmed me and that’s when I called PECO,” Gracia said.  She added that PECO officials told her there were numerous calls regarding the smell.

Gracia said water in the Newtown Creek, which is in her backyard, is bubbling from the leak.

When she went to look at it yesterday, “it was bubbling, like someone was blowing bubbles in it,” Gracia said.

Gracia has been in touch with PECO recently for a different matter. In trying to put an addition on her home, she needed to access the right-of-way of the gas line on her property.  Gracia and the utility came to an agreement that the gas line would be capped, which could happen because another line provided service to the area anyway. The line was active but not necessarily in use, Gracia noted.

However, that agreement came with a hefty price tag for Gracia, who recently paid the utility company to cap the line. It was scheduled to be deactivitated in the coming weeks.

“In the meantime, this gas has been leaking for a very long time,” she said.

But since the leak, and the response by PECO due to the emergency situation, the line will be capped anyway. Gracia said she was in touch with PECO this morning, and they told her she would be refunded.

Gracia said PECO also assured her there was no health or safety risk. “They said 'we wouldn’t let you sleep here if it weren’t safe'," she said.

But Gracia said she learned a lesson. “Now I’m going to be a little bit more diligent. If I smell gas, I’m going to call immediately.”


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