Water Main Breaks Gusher

[Howard]

"All the land between New England and Mexico is being pulled at a diagonal, and it is not just the fault lines that are feeling stress. All will participate when the New Madrid Fault

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - "Super Sinkhole Walter" and 40 Others 

Malibu, California - Recurring Water Main Breaks

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Big Hole / Deep Water 

[Howard]

Water Main Erupts in Seattle Washington (Oct 8)
A 16-inch water main ruptured near University Village on Tuesday afternoon.

Fire alarms across the University of Washington campus were set off by the sudden drop in water pressure.

The water main is a major one for the city but it was unclear how many water customers were affected. Inspectors were still at the scene late Tuesday afternoon, trying to identify the location of the break and the cause.

"It was a lot of water," said Josh Dautremont, who was working at Eureka Burger when the water main broke. "It was hitting the bridge." (the Northeast 45th Street viaduct running from the University of Washington to the shopping center).

The Starbucks nearest the water main was closed but other stores remained open, though with few customers.

Water flowed through the shopping center's parking lot but sandbags were placed in time to divert the widening lake into drains, where large whirlpools formed.

Sources

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Water-main-break-at-Universi...

http://mynorthwest.com/11/2370594/Water-main-break-floods-Seattles-...

[Howard]

2 Water Mains Blow in Omaha, Nebraska (Oct 7)
A geyser at 85th and Center coincided with another water main break two blocks away in downtown Omaha Nebraska.

About 40 commercial and business customers were affected.

The cause of the breaks are under investigation,

Sources

http://nebraskaradionetwork.com/2013/10/07/there-she-blows-water-ma...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131007/NEWS/131008992/1707

[Derrick Johnson]

 

Water main break forces closure of Washington Avenue near Juniper

 

 ESCONDIDO, CA — A water main break has snarled traffic in central Escondido by creating a sink hole on Washington Avenue between Juniper Street and Waverly Place, city officials said.

The street has been closed indefinitely pending pipe and road repairs. Water has been shut off in the area.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation were trying to figure out exactly which water line was broken and how to fix it just after 5 p.m., city officials said.

City Councilman John Masson, who works nearby, said spectators gathered to watch the unusual scene Friday afternoon.

"The whole road from curb to curb was puffed up about six inches," Masson said. "It was quite amazing to see. The water was bubbling out and they finally shut it off."

 

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/sep/27/escondido-sink-hole-traf...   

[Howard]

Multiple Water Mains Rupture Across Jackson, Mississippi (Sept 27)

Eight broken water mains have public works crews working overtime to restore service across the city of Jackson.

Residents across the city are under a boil water notice. Those areas affected include Petit Bois, Avery Circle, Whitworth Street, Forest Park Drive and River Oaks Place.

The boil water notice will remain in effect for at least two days since two consecutive days of clean water testing results are required.  

Residents are urged not to drink tap water or use ice from the freezer without a filter. Residents can cook or wash dishes, but must boil the tap water for at least one minute before using it. Bathing is safe as long as the water is not swallowed.

Sources

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130927/NEWS/130927007/Jackso...

http://www.wjtv.com/story/23553183/flash-flooding-for-water-main-br...

[Howard]

Ruptured Water Main Creates Geyser in Napa, California (Sept 21)
Water shot about 100 feet into the air at about 3 p.m. Saturday after a water main apparently broke along southbound Highway 29 and Devlin Road in south Napa County.

For about an hour, vehicles slowed as drivers snapped photos of the jet that shot water and dirt into the air as public works employees for the city of Napa tried to slowly shut down valves.

The cause of the break was not immediately known.

Source

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/water-main-breaks-sprays-i...

[Howard]

Water Main Erupts in St. Louis, Missouri (Sept 17)
A massive geyser from a water main break shut down St. Charles street Tuesday morning.

The 16-inch water main break happened at the intersection of New Town Blvd. and Fountain Lakes Blvd. around 10:45 a.m.

Crews responded to the scene and turned the water off, though New Town Blvd. remains closed in the early parts of the afternoon.

The incident comes just days after another water main break had thousands of St. Charles and St. Peters under a boil and water conservation order.

Source

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/ain-break-shoots-in-St-Charles-22409...

[Howard]

Well Rupture Spews 30-Ft Water-Methane Geyser for Days in Los Angeles (Sept 16)

A company that worked on burning gas wells in Iraq attempted to plug an abandoned well that was shooting water and methane 30 feet into the air for 4 days, prompting the evacuation of 37 homes.

The well, near Imperial Highway and Truro Avenue, continued to spew methane even after crews were able to stop the flow of water, authorities said.

Monday morning (Sept 16), the well-capping company blasted 208 barrels of high-pressured water into the well spout to try to stop the flow of water and methane.

Imperial Highway and the 105 Freeway — one of the main routes to Los Angeles International Airport — were shut down temporarily Monday while workers performed the dangerous operation of shutting down the geyser, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Brian Jordan.

Families will be allowed to return to their nearby homes once the well is capped and readings show no methane is escaping, Jordan said.

He had no estimate on when that would be complete.

Sources

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-methane-well-leaking-20...

http://ktla.com/2013/09/16/workers-seek-to-cap-water-methane-leak-t...

[Howard]

30 Meter Geyser in Auckland NZ (Sep 5)

Residents flooded by a burst water main on Auckland's North Shore sent water so high that one witness thought it was a tornado.

One witness said: "I thought it was a tornado. It looked like a huge fountain."

"Just the power of it is pretty impressive. You can see all the bollards out just from the pressure."

He said it was "shocking", and estimated the water was spewing 30 metres into the air.

A woman at a nearby shop said she the water main was still gushing water.

An electrician had been called in to assess the damage and insurers were on the way.

"The cause is still unknown," the spokeswoman said.

"Our crews are still there assessing the situation and trying to work out what happened."

Sources

http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/9129778/North-Shore-geyser-floods-f...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1...

[Howard]

Water Main Explodes in Muncie Indiana (Aug 31)

The street in front of Cathy Carter’s house house turned into “Old Faithful’ around 8 a.m. on Saturday after a water main broke.

“Water was just shooting up like a fountain, causing sparks in the electric line,” she said. “It shot straight up into the power lines.”

“It looked like a geyser,” said Dan Beaty, who was working in a yard nearby.

Neighbors said the jet-like eruption exceeded the height of mature trees and the power lines.

“It shot 50 to 60 feet in the air until we got it shut down,” said Indiana-American Water Co. spokesman Joe Loughmiller.

While water was being turned off, there was another break in the line on Morrison about 200 feet away.

It was the second major water main break in Muncie since July 20, when all five lanes of busy McGalliard Road were shut down near Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse and Cardinal Greenway. That break in an 8-inch, cast-iron main flooded and undermined both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the road.

And there was another major water main break on Sept 2 on Riggin Road near Walnut Street in the vicinity of the Delaware County Airport. That eruption shot water horizontally into a bean field.

Indiana Michigan Power shut off electricity in the area of the Morrison Road break on Saturday.

Denise Allen, owner of Wee Wisdom Nursery and Day Care Center on Morrison, was grateful she wasn’t open on Labor Day. Because of the loss of water and electricity, she would have had to send the children home.

“It was powerful,” Allen said of the eruption.

Source

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20130903/NEWS01/309030004/-Geys...

[Howard]

Wyoming Water Main Ruptures 3 Times, Creates 70-ft Geyser (Aug 31)
A 12-inch main water line near Riverton Country Club sprung a leak Saturday, not once, not twice, but three separate times.

The pipe’s first leak around 4 p.m. Saturday sent a geyser of water 70 feet into the air and city crews initially reduced the flow of the line to prevent the golf course from flooding and planned to fix it on Sunday.

Warpness and City Administrator Steven Weaver inspected the leak that afternoon. “The amount of potable water rushing out of the break didn’t make sense to us, and a resident had complained they had no water at all, so the decision was made to fix it that evening."

The mayor said he returned to the site at 9 p.m. and said the leak had been repaired, but another one occurred in the same line just 50 feet away. City crews fixed that leak on Sunday morning, but then a third blow out occurred. “With three leaks in one section of pipe, I think it’s a time bomb waiting to happen,” Warpness said. “There must be something in the soil there that is acting on the iron pipe.”

Source

http://county10.com/2013/09/02/water-main-break-riverton/