Water main break closes state building

Maryland and Baltimore City officials battled a complicated water main break Tuesday that kept about 1,500 state employees from work in the William Donald Schaefer Tower downtown.

City Public Works spokesman Kurt Kocher said the city?s repair efforts on a break near the intersection of East Baltimore and St. Paul Streets were slowed because valves on Baltimore Street were recently paved over and other utility lines are directly atop the main break. Complicating matters, he said, a backup water supply inside the state-owned building is not working.