Water main break releases 50,000 gallons, prompts road closures
2 northbound lanes of Bouquet Canyon Road forced to close; exact cause of break still to be determined
A water main break believed caused by nearby construction released about 50,000 gallons of water into the Santa Clara River Tuesday morning, forcing the shutdown of roads and creating traffic jams miles long.
“There was a (Valencia Water Co.) 14” main break at 9:38 AM this morning in front of Starbucks on Bouquet near the intersection of Newhall Ranch,” Ken Petersen, general manager of Valencia Water Company, told The Signal.
The break forced the closures of two of the northbound lanes of Bouquet Canyon Road at Newhall Ranch Road.
The exact cause is still being looked at, but it’s believed to be related to work being done in the area.
“We suspect that its related to contractor work nearby. This break is on a different water main and unrelated to the break that occurred in May this year,” Petersen said. ” We estimate 50,000 gallons discharged back to the nearby river drainage due to this pipeline break.”
“A local contractor damaged one of Valencia Water Company’s water mains, resulting in a leak,” Carrie Lujan, spokeswoman for the City of Santa Clarita, said in a news release issued Tuesday morning.
“Water from the ruptured pipe spilled onto the northbound lanes resulting in damage to the roadway.
Contractors are working to repair the broken water line. Once repairs are complete, the roadway will need to be repaved.
All of the repairs are estimated to be completed by Wednesday morning.
Residents were encouraged to use McBean Parkway as an alternate route.
Safety officials caution drivers to never drive through standing water, as it is impossible to know if the ground is stable underneath.
Petersen explained that the pipeline break was isolated within 21 minutes.
“Starbucks was the only service out of water,” he said.
“We re-established service to Starbucks within the hour but they have decided to stay closed until the water main is repaired.”