NewsLeak

A water main recently burst in South San Francisco, creating a 60-foot geyser that is spilling more than a million gallons of water while damaging homes, cars and other personal property. Utility officials in the neighborhood have yet to identify the cause of the break, as the pipe segments affected were recently upgraded and put back into service a few weeks ago as part of the city's water system improvement project.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported no people were injured due to the burst, but more than 10 cars and 12 homes have been damaged, and repairs are needed to local sidewalks and landscaping. Once the burst has been repaired, residents will be compensated for the damaged caused to their homes and property.

"We cannot stress enough that the prevention of this happening again is a paramount concern," said David Briggs, manager of the local and regional water system for the San Francisco PUC.

According to Bay City News, the main burst occurred where a 12-inch water pipeline connected to a 60-inch pipeline. This particular portion of the water system was upgraded as part of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program, which aimed to seismically retrofit the Hetch Hetchy water system that runs throughout the neighborhood.

The Chronicle reported the SFPUC evacuated residents near the main burst, but they have since been allowed to return to their homes. One neighbor said she heard a loud boom and saw a geyser of water outside her window flowing into the street.

A series of water line leaks were recently discovered in DeKalb County, Illinois, prompting the Board of Commissioners to pass an ordinance enabling residents to receive forgiveness on excessive water bills resulting from the undetected leaks.

In an interview with Champion Newspaper, county Commissioner Jeff Rader said the ordinance is designed to help remedy situations involving a resident being completely surprised by an inflated water bill.

“When they get surprised by that, they often end up calling their commissioner’s offices and we try to serve as their intermediary to get an appropriate and fair adjustment to that water bill based on the circumstance of the situation,” Rader told the source. “This ends up taking a great deal of our time from the customer service side perspective.”

Further, the customers of Golden State Water Company in Barstow, California, have also reported high water bills in the past few months. The Desert Dispatch reported local plumbers have seen an increase in customers calling to complain about increased water bills, and they believe the problem is water leaks rather than inaccurate measurements by the water company.

The water company spokesman told the source that customers are being directed to monitor their water usage as well as have a professional plumber come check the pipes for leaks.