City Completes Temporary Repairs to Broken Water Main

Temporary repairs to a large water main that feeds water into 160 homes have been completed and residents may be able to drink their tap water by Monday, city officials said Saturday.

The temporary repair was completed around 9 p.m. last night – a quick fix to the , said Daniel Smith, director of Operation Services for the city of Pleasanton.

“We had some good luck last night and yesterday,” Smith said.

City crews will continue to work on pressurizing the system so that residents can use tap water normally, said Smith. He explained the water flow at this time is not normal as of yet.

Drinking the water is still not an option for those who live in the homes that were affected along upper Longwood Drive, Santos Ranch Road and in the upper Kilcare Canyon near Sunol.

Smith said test samples continue to be collected throughout today and city officials hope to give the clear to drink the tap water by Monday. Results for each test takes 24 hours to complete, he added.

Water use should still be conserved, he said.

The fix is a temporary one, emphasized Smith, adding a permanent fix will follow.

“These are temporary repairs in order to get a temporary repair in and return flow to normal, and that may be a while because it’s so wet and unstable there,” Smith said.

Damage to the water line occurred sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, when a landslide on the west side of the ridge caused the steel pipe to break at a joint.

“The whole hill slid down into the (dirt) road and the main is in the dirt road. It moved the road about two feet,” Smith said. “As the road moved… it moved the main two feet… it broke the main apart at the joint.”

Smith said it wasn’t the age of the pipe, which is 30 years old, but the effects of stormy weather that saturated the ground.

“I think we all want to pray for the rain to stop. We got enough and it could cause us other problems,” Smith said. “The continuing rain will be an issue.”

On Friday evening, residents said the flow of water seemed to be normal and that city officials advised them to conserve water.

City officials also released the following recommendations.

• If the water looks cloudy or dirty, you should not drink it.  Upon return of normal water service, you should flush the hot and cold water lines until the water appears clear and the water quality returns to normal.
• If you are experiencing water outages or low water pressure, immediately discontinue any non-essential water usage.  This includes all outdoor irrigation and car washing.  Minimizing usage will reduce the potential for the water system to lose pressure or completely run out of water.
• If you are concerned about the water quality or are uncertain of its safety, you may add eight drops of household bleach to one gallon of water and let it sit for 30 minutes or alternatively, if you are able, water can be boiled for one minute at a rolling boil to ensure its safety. Use of home treatment devices does not guarantee the water supply is safe after low pressure situations.

For more information, call 925-931-5501.

No injuries were reported and no property has been damaged, according to Smith.