Muni Embarcadero station in SF reopens after major leak causes daylong closure

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Not one, but two leaks in the drainage system at the Muni Embarcadero station in San Francisco made for delays early Thursday morning as the commute was in full gear. The leaks also impacted BART, which is located below the Muni line.

Just after 5:30 a.m., ABC7's assignment manager began recording water cascading onto a BART train at the Embarcadero station. The water was coming from the Muni line above as they were testing their fire suppression system.

"And Muni was testing it last night and they couldn't turn it off," said Huntington.

Muni spokesperson Paul Rose explains, "And in that test our drainage system malfunctioned causing the track and platform to flood."

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This was a routine test that Muni does at all of the stations.

That fire suppression system works like this - water runs through the mainline located at the edge of the platform that transfers water to feeder lines that then distribute that water to sprinkler heads between the tracks. They serve a huge purpose.

"This is really to help ensure that if there is a fire underneath the train or on the tracks, we're able to suppress it with water," said Rose.

When they went to drain the system, two leaks began spilling water onto the Muni tracks and on the BART trains and platform below.

"I realized there is something wrong because there's like water on my shoulders and I was like oh there is something wrong and I had to check twitter," said passenger Pierre Balangue, who was late to work.

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While BART eventually resumed service at the Embarcadero station, Muni had to repair the leaks by capping them while passengers were diverted by getting free rides on BART to the Montgomery station. The station eventually opened at 3:30 PM.

Muni is still trying to determine what caused the leaks in the drainage system.

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