A water main owned by California American Water failed this afternoon, sending streams of water down Madison and Polk streets and into downtown Monterey.
Monterey Assistant City Manager Hans Uslar reports that "massive" Cal Am crews are onsite trying to shut down the leak. Uslar says he has heard no reports from Cal Am about why the rupture occurred, and adds that "this is definitely not normal."
As the crews continue working at the area of the main break, the intersection of Madison and Pacific streets remains closed.
Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Stedman couldn't provide an immediate reason as why the main failed, and later said the crews shut down the leak at about 5pm.
She added the 8-inch main failed at about 3:20pm, and that the properties on Pacific Street between Franklin Street and Logan Lane are currently without water.
She says crews will continue working until service is restored, and added that "thousands" of gallons of water were lost in the leak. She writes via text that it will be a "complex repair in part because of other utilities in the intersection."
She also says it's not yet clear of nearby work on Cal Am's Monterey Pipeline had anything to do with the rupture.
Weekly Managing Editor Mark C. Anderson was in downtown Monterey shortly after the flooding began, and has this to report via email:
"Head-turning streams filled both gutters over the curb and onto the sidewalk of Calle Principal, Polk Street and Alvarado Street, and even got heavier as time went on.
UPDATE 2/14/17 5pm: Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Stedman writes via text message that the failed 8-inch water main was repaired at 3am this morning, and that it was "cast iron and decades old—a case of aging infrastructure."
She writes that Cal Am will continue monitoring the patched pavement in the area will make repairs as necessary.
She adds that Cal Am spends about $2 million annually to replace old mains, and that the amount of water lost through leaks is about 4 percent of the water in the system, "which is considered world class by industry standards."
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