Break repaired as of 11 a.m. Monday morning, crews still on-scene
Update 5 p.m. – Webster Street is expected to reopen around 6:30 p.m. Monday evening, once EBMUD’s water main and street restoration repairs are complete.
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) crews worked around the clock to repair a main break on an 85-year-old, 12-inch water main near the intersection of Webster Street and Buena Vista Avenue in Alameda.
The leak was first reported at approximately 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 24. Crews worked through the night to locate the break.
Video by Ken Der.
A section of Webster Street, from Lincoln Avenue to Atlantic Avenue/Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway, remained closed Monday morning, as crews continued working to repair a water main that broke Sunday evening, causing flooding and sinkholes, according to a City of Alameda report [1] on Facebook. Street restoration work is also underway: crews are backfilling the site, and paving operations will follow to reopen Webster Street.
One lane remained open for southbound/westbound traffic, but the City warned drivers to expect delays, follow all posted detours, and drive with caution. Bus riders were advised to check for Webster Street detours on the AC Transit Service Notice [2] web page.
[3]The water main broke shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 24, according to a KTVU News [4] report. Crews reportedly found the pipe at about 10 p.m. and worked around the clock to fix it. The broken pipe shot thousands of gallons of water down Webster Street, starting at Buena Vista Avenue. According to the City, there were no water quality or water safety concerns.
A few businesses said they had lost their water and others said they were running low on water Sunday night, according to an ABC7 News [5] report. EBMUD said they had been in touch with local businesses that had been impacted.
“And there’s also a nursing home in this area, so we are in close contact with them to make sure that they stay safe, that they have what they need for the nursing home, for example, we’re going to bring them water,” EBMUD spokesperson Andrea Pook told ABC7 News.
[6]Throughout the emergency response, EBMUD coordinated closely with the City of Alameda, Alameda Fire, and Alameda Police Department. “We thank our Alameda neighbors for their patience and thank the EBMUD crews for their ingenuity and hard work,” Pook stated in a media release on Monday morning. The cause of the leak is still under investigation.