x
Breaking News
More () »

Water main break floods businesses in Little Italy

A water main break at the intersection Kettner Boulevard and Juniper Street in Little Italy left the surrounding streets flooded Sunday morning.

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — It was a messy morning for people in Little Italy after a huge water main break flooded several businesses.  

Business owners like Joey Vaiasuso arrived to their workspace shocked by the damage caused by the water main break. 

"It's pretty bad," said Vaiasuso. "It's about 4 feet under water - all the machinery and everything within the space. We opened it to look in there and a sofa floated by." 

The break happened around 6 a.m. and took hours to turn off. 

An 8,000-square-foot building took the brunt of it, filling with water. 

The space houses a gym and many art studios. 

"It's going to be really hard," Vaiasuso said. "It'll put us all out for, I'm sure, a good week." 

Further up the street, owners of a salon peered inside to see how badly their business was damaged. 

"[When] you get a phone call early in the morning saying 'come down the salon's under water,' it sucks," said one business owner. 

They escaped the worst of it, but there is still a mess to clean up. 

The break also disrupted trolley service resulting in shuttle bus service outside Santa Fe Depot in order for passengers to continue on their route.   

Water, nearly up to the overhead wires, filled a portion of tracks and forced MTS to split Green Line service. 

Extra staff also helped confused commuters as passengers packed into buses going around the break to Washington Street. 

As of Sunday evening, crews were working to get the streets in working condition in the area, with more repairs to come later in the week. 

The street was expected to reopen in time for Monday's commute. 

Water in the area had also been restored by Sunday evening.

Before You Leave, Check This Out