SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A water pipe break in Chula Vista caused a sinkhole and temporarily left 47 apartment buildings without water.
The break happened around 1:45 a.m. Tuesday in the Marquis in the Otay Ranch neighborhood, located south of Olympic Parkway and west of State Route 125. The buildings beset Magdalena Avenue and East Palomar street were immediately impacted. The water was shut off within the hour, following the break.
Crews were onsite to assess repairs and clear debris between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. The damage was to Otay’s 12-inch water main pipeline on Magdalena Ave.
Otay Water District worked to make sure residents quickly received access to water. Crews moved water from other lines, also known as highline access, to restore service to as many buildings as possible as early as 9:45 a.m.
There was no damage to the internal infrastructure of the pipelines inside the condos, which is privately owned.
As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, it was reported from the scene that repairs would take another two to four hours before the job was complete and customers were receiving water from the water main again. However until the repairs were complete, customers continued to receive water from the highline supply.