Water Main Was Broken by Large Chunk of Concrete

A huge piece of concrete crushed a major city water main, causing the Wednesday morning spill of millions of gallons of water into an intersection near Lindbergh Field, a city water official said Friday. The break resulted in massive traffic jams and a drastic loss in water pressure near the airport.

It was determined that rain caused the concrete to settle on the 16-inch cast-iron pipe which burst near Laurel Street and Harbor Drive, said Yvonne Rehg, public information officer for the San Diego Water and Utilities Department. Rehg said the chunk of concrete had probably been paved over several years ago and forgotten.

Workers replaced the pipe Friday afternoon at a cost of about $3,000, she said.

Total costs were not known although Rehg said the city purchases water from the county water authority at $600 per million gallons.

The city lost between 10 million and 18 million gallons in the spill, she said.

Rehg said Water Utilities had yet to determine labor costs and the cost for sand and gravel used in the repair job.

Hundreds of airport commuters missed their flights because of the spill, which took place just before the start of morning flights at about 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Many businesses and residents near the airport lost water pressure until about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Alternate water mains were utilized until the pipe could be replaced, Rehg said.