The pipe that burst and created a sinkhole in the Orange section of Lot 80 Wednesday night was repaired by 6 a.m. yesterday, but the cause has yet to be determined.

Office of Physical Plant spokesman Paul Ruskin said the broken pipe was part of the original cast iron pipe laid in the 1930s, and was scheduled for replacement in the next few years when Lot 80 will be redeveloped. He said the break may have occurred simply due to sudden heavy water usage that caused the pipe to give out, referred to as water hammer.

"We suspect that it may just have been a surge in the pipe," Ruskin said. "The hydraulic system is subject to the water needs at the moment."

The break in the 12-inch pipe did not cause a disruption to the water system, he said, because of the large capacity of backup in the system. About 800,000 gallons of water were lost, though Ruskin added the water was not really lost for good as it returned to the ground through the storm drains.

The university towed about 20 cars to other areas of the parking lot to keep them out of harm's way as well as to make room for the digging equipment, a decision Ruskin supported.

"There was no damage to the cars," he said. "They were moved out of the way just in time."

Authorities believed most of the cars belonged to visitors attending the Billy Joel and Elton John concert at the Bryce Jordan Center. Bernie Punt, director of public relations for the Jordan Center, said he had not received any complaints from anyone about their car being towed.

"We received 1,800 e-mails (yesterday)," Punt said. "Not one had to do with a car."

Punt said police told him what was going on and directed people to their cars as they left the concert.

"We were given a heads up from the police that there was a potential problem," Punt said. "It could have been a lot worse, but it wasn't."

According to the OPP event report, at 8:40 p.m. an East Halls residence life coordinator reported a lot of water coming from the ground in the area of the parking lot between the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building and East Halls.

Ruskin said eight OPP employees were at the scene during the night. The OPP report stated crews responded to direct water and maintain the scene around the water main break.

The new pipe is made of ductile iron, which is more durable than cast iron. Ruskin is confident that instances like this may not be completely eliminated but the frequency of them will decrease because of the improved material.

He said there there were no injuries, and described the scene as "basically a hole in the ground with a lot of water." He added that things were returned to normal as soon as possible.

"The damage was repaired and the site was made functional," Ruskin said. "It was a long, hard night."