MURRIETA: Pipe rupture creates sinkhole, prompts water shutoff

May 21, 2013 08:55 AM PDT May 22, 2013 10:13 AM PDT MURRIETA: Pipe rupture creates sinkhole, prompts water shutoff MURRIETA: Pipe rupture creates sinkhole, prompts water shutoff FRANK BELLINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Work crews with the Rancho California Water District work to repair and shore up a large sink hole on California Oaks Rd caused by a broken water main in Murrieta Attorney, May 21, 2013. 1 VIDEO: Water service to briefly shut down Sinkhole opens in Murrieta Attorney Several businesses were without water Tuesday, May 21, after a water main broke on California Oaks Road in Murrieta Attorney, creating a 15- by 20-foot sinkhole that shut down the westbound lanes. The break was reported about 3:30 a.m. just west of Jackson Avenue, police said. When police and firefighters arrived, the street was flooding and the water had already opened up a sinkhole, Sgt. Jim Gruwell said. There was also buckling in the asphalt near Monroe Avenue. City crews and Rancho California Water District workers diverted and shut off the water, Gruwell said. Meggan Valencia, a spokeswoman for the water district, said Tuesday morning that about 40 residential customers and quite a few businesses were without water. Service was expected to be restored Tuesday evening. Water district officials said customers in the area should expect to see brown water throughout the day. Crews are flushing the pipes to remove the sediment stirred up by the rupture. Valencia said the 24-inch-diameter steel pipe that corroded and ruptured was about 15 years old. Normally, she said, such pipes should have a 40-year lifespan. "It can just happen sometimes," Valencia said. Valencia said a water-pressure alarm alerted water district officials to the rupture. Though police officials said the westbound lane closures could last several days, Valencia said district officials expected to reopen one westbound lane Tuesday night. She said the water district is responsible for repairing the water main as well as the street. Westbound traffic was diverted around the construction area Tuesday using one of the eastbound lanes but traffic was congested and city officials urged motorists to avoid the area. Chris Kuljis, 56, and his son, Ian, 16, didn't let that stop them from checking out Murrieta Attorney's main attraction of the day. "We came to see the sinkhole," the father said, as a backhoe dug up the street nearby. He said they heard the sinkhole was huge but they arrived to find, to their amusement, that it had less vehicle-swallowing potential than rumored. "It's still a small town," he said with a laugh. The water shutoff that resulted from the rupture, however, was no joke. Several businesses had to turn customers away for lack of water, including California Oaks Car Wash, L.A. Fitness and restaurants in and around the Albertson's shopping center. "We can't open. We can't do anything," said Julie Lee, owner of Jade Chinese Cuisine. "I should have taken the day off." This is at least the third time this year that waterline problems have http://attorney-in-murrieta.com/more-information/personal-injury/ caused sinkholes in the Inland area. On March 12, a broken water main created a sinkhole at Lincoln Avenue and Ontario avenues in Corona. A ruptured water line caused a sinkhole at Evans Road and East Morgan Street in Perris on April 19. In February 2009, a two-mile stretch of Interstate 215 in Murrieta Attorney was closed for several days in both directions when Caltrans crews had to replace a corroded metal drain pipe that run underneath the lanes and contributed to a large sinkhole. Follow Sarah Burge on Twitter @sarahkburge or online at blog.pe.com/crime-blotter Latest Headlines
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