Washington Street has been closed between Clay and South streets until further notice after city sewer department workers discovered a broken 24-inch storm drain at the intersection of Crawford and Washington streets.

Water mains supervisor Dane Lovell said the pipe is part of a line that runs the length of Crawford Street and drains into the main brick drainage tunnel that runs through town.

“We’re closing the street until further notice because we don’t know what we’re going to find down there when open it up,” Lovell said. He said city crews will do some of the site preparation before the contractor arrives.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said the city has declared the situation an emergency, which allows the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to hire a contractor to fix the problem without having to go through the bid process. He did not know who will make the repairs.

He said downtown residents and store owners had complained about an odor in the area around Washington and Crawford, adding the problem was discovered when a sewer department crew sent a video camera through the line.