The White House got a bath earlier this afternoon when a contractor working on a major renovation to the West Wing struck a water line, unleashing a skyrocketing torrent of water on the executive complex.

D.C. Water was quick to dispatch a nearby crew to oversee repairs, said Alan Heymann, a spokesman for the utility. The gusher, which from the video below appeared to reach the third floor of the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building, has widely been assumed to be from a water main, an assessment that D.C. Water and Heymann were quick to correct. The contractor struck a service line that runs under the White House grounds, not a main line running under the street. (It somewhat reminds us of the Great Cleveland Park Geyser of 2012.)

Pipe confusion aside, the break brings to attention a series of significant upgrades being made to the White House’s infrastructure, which some officials call its “Big Dig.” The Associated Press reported today that for the next several years, much of the West Wing will disappear behind fences and temporary walls as improvements are made:

The White House describes the job as an overdue upgrade of underground utilities. That includes water and sewer lines, electrical conduits, pipes for chilled and hot water and steam heat systems, and storm sewers. Heating, air conditioning and fire alarm systems are being replaced. Some systems are getting backups.

A mysterious tunnel is being built, too.

Crews have poured huge concrete pylons, erected retaining walls and brought in truckloads of steel I-beams. The construction site has expanded from in front of the West Wing around to the side and across a parking lot to the next-door Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Oh, a mysterious tunnel? The White House didn’t say much in the AP’s report, but a White House spokeswoman said it is being built for utility access, not something like, say, an emergency bunker. (The White House already has one of those beneath the East Wing in case of a nuclear attack.)

As for the pipe break, NBC4 got footage of the geyser deluging the contractors and ultimately being switched off:

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.