Murrieta Businesses Deal With Water Main Break, Road Closure

MURRIETA, CA — A 7-Eleven, a local flower shop and a favored Murrieta brewery are just a few of the businesses hanging on amid the overnight water shutoff in Murrieta.

On Tuesday evening, Rancho Water, the area's water utility, shut down a broad section of south Jefferson Avenue at Eastman Drive to fix the broken water main.

"We weren't warned they were shutting off the water," a worker at Finicky Flowers told Patch. "We came in this morning to just a drip, drip, drip from the faucets."

Finicky Flowers, located at 41419 Pear Street, Suite 2, is just one of the businesses that has been without water all day Wednesday. During the nearly 24-hour shutoff, the family-owned florist has managed to keep the business running without a water supply.

"The coolers are working, we just can't scrub out buckets today," she said. "We do have water in buckets, for the flowers, and extra water in the cooler, so luckily the flowers are fine! for now."

On Tuesday, the Murrieta Police Department originally posted that there was a water leak in the area in the business district, on the south side of Jefferson Avenue. All night traffic was diverted so that the water district could work on and correct the problem.

"It started with a wet spot in the road," Rancho Water Spokesperson Kimy Wall told Patch. "Once at the scene, they were able to start the actual repair work at Jefferson Avenue and Pear Street. They are thinking the work will be done, and repaved, by 10 p.m. and that water should be returned to normal by 4 p.m."

As of 2 p.m., the roadway was still closed.

A worker at the 7-Eleven, on the west side of Jefferson, sighed when asked how business was going today.

"Slow," he said. "We have water here, but the road is still closed."

The workers at 8-Bit Brewing Company told Patch it's been a busy day, but their water never shut off either. All were curious when the road would reopen.

Still, it's the north-east side of Jefferson Avenue and Eastman Road where businesses have been without water since after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"Workers say that they are rewelding, and then once those repairs are good, they'll start repaving," Nora at Finicky Flowers said. "I have no idea when that will happen."

It was not immediately clear how many businesses in the area were without water during the repairs, or what led to the water main break.

"Please avoid the area if possible," Rancho Water asked over social media.