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 

[Derrick Johnson]

Long Beach water main break floods streets

 

 LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities in Long Beach worked to repair a water main break Saturday on Pacific Avenue between Spring and 33rd streets.

Roads in the immediate area were blocked off due to severe flooding.

The break happened around 4:00 a.m., cutting off water service to about 22 homes in the area.

As of 9 a.m., crews were still working to restore service, but it's unknown how long that will take.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&am...

[Howard]

Water Main Geyser in N. Virginia Soaks Row of Townhouses (Oct 25)

A broken water main in Fairfax County caused water to shoot nearly 100 feet into the air Friday morning, soaking nearby homes and yards at the intersection of Burke Road and Lake Braddock Drive in Burke, Va., at around 3:40 a.m.

News4's Melissa Mollet said the geyser appeared to be three times the height of a nearby power line., blasting water in the direction of townhouses for about an hour, flooding an entire row before crews could shut off the water.

A Fairfax Water spokesperson tells us a break occurred in a 30-inch pipe.

At least one fire unit responded to the scene due to water spraying on a nearby transformer, causing it to spark.

Sources

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Broken-Water-Main-Break-Pro...

http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/280416/158/Crews-working-to-repai...

[Howard]

Boston Water Main Blows 5 Stories High (Oct 23)

Boston officials battled a large water main break in the middle of A Street near Congress Street. The “geyser” reached about five stories in the air—roughly 60 feet.

Sources

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/10/23/south-boston-wat...

[Howard]

Ruptured UK Water Main Blows 100-Ft Geyser (Oct 22)

Shoddy editing from Daily Mail.

The high pressure water rocketed into the air in Malden Fields in Bushey, Hertfordshire - sending stones, litter and other debris sky high.

It blasted into the sky, before crashing to the ground - sending water gushing through the surrounding streets.

Resident Harry Jonson, 66, said he and his neighbours were told to stay indoors to avoid being injured by the enormous jet.

'We were told to stay indoors as the water was so powerful it was blowing rocks into the air.

'I've never seen anything like it before.'

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2471711/Punctured-mains-pip...

[Howard]

Ruptured Water Main Geyser in Houston Texas (Oct 13)

A large water main break in southwest Houston left residents in the area without water much of Sunday.

The water main break was reported around noon Sunday on Fondren and West Airport.

A city of Houston employee wasn't sure how many homes were affected by the water outage but said it was significant.

"It's a very large main that they're trying to repair," the city employee said.

Crews initially estimated it would take five hours to repair, but it ended up taking about 12 hours.

No additional details were released.

Source

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9285661

[Derrick Johnson]

Water main break opens sinkhole on west side

 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 8:55 pm | Updated: 7:23 am, Wed Oct 9, 2013.

By Anne Constable
The New Mexican | 0 comments

A water main break early Tuesday opened up a 20-foot-long, oval-shaped sinkhole at Camino Sierra Vista and Oñate Place, released a river of water, disrupted traffic in the west-side neighborhood and left 50 homes without water while crews worked into the night to repair the problem.

Jennifer Trujillo said water began gushing through the break in the asphalt, filling the hole and running down the street starting at about 12:45 p.m. She said she was worried about her home’s foundation, although when she checked the basement in the afternoon it was not wet.

She was trying to figure out how to get out to collect her children, 14 and 16, from school — and how she was going to cook dinner without water. She said her father, who lives next door, had anticipated such a situation and filled some plastic bottles with drinking water.

Vicenta Trujillo, 84, used the opportunity to collect runaway water with a ten-gallon bucket and water her trees.

The water pulsed through the break under high pressure for about three and a half hours. The city’s emergency manager, Andrew Phelps, didn’t have an estimate of how much water was lost, but, “It was a lot.”

He said crews were able to shut the water off at about 4:10 p.m.

The homes left without water Tuesday evening were along Camino Sierra Vista between Salazar and Alarid streets. Phelps said it would take about another 12 hours to replace the section of water main that ruptured. He blamed the break on aging infrastructure.

Staff from the City Water Division, Public Utilities Department, Public Works Department, police, firefighters, New Mexico Gas and Public Service Company of New Mexico all responded to the emergency.

PNM was worried that the high volume of water might threaten a utility poll in the area and the company shut off power to about 140 homes in case it fell down. Phelps said power should be restored Tuesday night.

The high pressure and turbidity of the water pushed dirt and rocks around, loosening the base of the pavement, “creating a bridge where there should be no bridge,” Phelps said. The substructure of the road was washed away and water gushed through the cracks, Phelps said. The sinkhole measures about 20 feet long and 12 to 14 feet across.

The storm drains did their job, he added. Some water flowed past the first drains in the road, but at about the fourth or fifth drain, Phelps said, the road was fairly dry. He said there were no reports of flooding.

Phelps said there was a delay in shutting off water pressure because crews had a hard time finding the correct valve. When they did find the right one (near Alarid Street), it was hard to turn off because of the high pressure.

Phelps said city utility crews will assess where further work is needed on the water main. By Tuesday evening they had pumped the water from the sinkhole.

It typically takes 24 hours to restore water to residential pipes. Meanwhile traffic was being diverted. There also is some ongoing roadwork on St. Francis Drive between Mercer Street and Camino Sierra Vista.

Dolores Martinez, who lives right across from the sinkhole, said she and her husband, Ben, had both power and water because their house is not connected to the main that broke. She said the crawl space under their home was OK.

Standing outside surveying the scene, she said, “It’s the biggest mess you have ever seen. It’s like being in a sci-fi movie. It was unimaginable.”

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/article_4ffcb38f-7...

[Howard]

Massive Water Main Break Near Baltimore, Maryland (Oct 9)

Water shot from the ground, like a wall blocking the road.

"It looked like a geyser, just shooting over the trees.  You couldn't see beyond like on the other side of Putty Hill," said Kathy Fallon, who lives off Putty Hill Ave.    

It shot through the trees and nearly knocked out Putty Hill Park.  The pressure brought down tree branches and created a river on Putty Hill Ave., in between Perring Pkwy. and Old Harford Rd.

The hole in the busted water main is about a foot wide.  The water pushed off the storm drain cover and broke apart bricks underground. 

24-inch water main break is in the 2300 block of Putty Hill Avenue, and the road was closed from Perring Parkway to Old Harford Road.

Officials say the water pressure forcibly moved a slab of concrete and a manhole several feet.

“It did a lot of damage to the sidewalk."said Kurt Kocher, Baltimore City Department of Public Works.

Sources

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_county/water-main...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/parkvill...

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/10/09/24-hours-later-residents-i...

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/10/08/baltimore-county-water-mai...

[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...