Water Main Breaks, Floods Couple’s Yard
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SIMI VALLEY — A 50-year-old water main that runs beneath a housing development fractured Wednesday morning and flooded a couple’s backyard and enclosed patio, fire officials said.
The owners of the single-story home at 1084 El Monte Drive called the Ventura County Fire Department about 7:15 a.m., said Fire Capt. Jerry Garner. Drains built into the landscaping helped ease flood damage, he said.
“When the city took over the water district years ago they didn’t know about this line,” Garner said.
Pressure in the line apparently built over the decades and caused the fracture, he said.
Firefighters at first turned off water running to the home, but then realized the break was in a main servicing several homes, Garner said. City public works crews dug up the line and capped it at both ends.
Between 12 and 20 homes were without water service for more than four hours, Garner said.
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