Water main break causes service interruption for some Encinitas residents

Some Encinitas homes were left without running water for nearly 12 hours July 24 as crews worked to repair a water main break near Lone Jack Road.

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District was alerted by emergency dispatch about the break of the eight-inch main line on the 3100 block of Brookside Lane at about 1:45 a.m., said Joey Randall, assistant general manager of the water district.

The valve was isolated to draw down the water pressure and minimize water loss and flows, Randall said.

The 21 affected customers had their water shut off beginning at about 4:30 a.m. The water was restored about 4:15 a.m. and the water district provided each home with 2.5 gallon jugs of water, Randall said.

Traffic was controlled as crews worked, and the road was open at all times, according to the water district.

“Luckily, the pipeline was off to one side of the road so traffic was able to get by,” Randall said.

The water district is working with the neighborhood’s homeowners association to repair the road “as quickly as possible,” he said.

He added the leak was fairly minor compared to others.

“We don’t like any emergency event, but relatively speaking this was on the less impactful end of the spectrum of water main leaks,” Randall said.