Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Residents in downtown Harrisburg reported hearing loud banging noises around 4:30 a.m. this morning, followed by reports of steam leaking into homes and businesses this afternoon near the intersection 3rd & North Street. The noises were repetitive, every 10-15 seconds, as loud as thunder and were said to be shaking entire homes.
Matt Krupp lives on North Street. Krupp detailed the situation on social media after he contacted the city and local utility companies. Krupp said he was told the situation resulted from nearby road construction and rainfall affecting exposed steam lines underground.
Specifically, as it was explained to Krupp, “Steam lines are generally warm. Current construction has the road dug up and the steam lines exposed. Yesterday’s cold weather and excessive rain completely submerged the steam lines, which caused significant temperature and pressure changes in the lines, resulting in a situation called a “WATER HAMMER.” #clearwayenergy sent a team out to address the situation. Service to the steam lines was discontinued and a number of pumps were deployed to evacuate the water. A WATER HAMMER can be a potentially dangerous situation, although there is no indication that that’s what we had here.“
As of 7:00 p.m. tonight, it was reported that a steam relief chimney was installed temporarily to prevent steam from infiltrating into nearby homes and businesses. The loud noises have reportedly ended.
Harrisburg100 
The rain is being used a s an excuse because people have been reporting noises underground for months and now suddenly steam is leaking into homes!
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