Water Main Break Wipes Out Service, Sinks Street

Middle school students and residents in an Aliso Viejo neighborhood were without water service Monday after an underground water main broke, causing a giant sinkhole in the road.

Temporary water service was restored to about 150 houses and Aliso Viejo Middle School around 1 p.m. after more than 100,000 gallons of water had spilled onto the street at Windsong and Cedarbrook.

The spill was discovered by residents around 2:30 a.m.

The break buckled the sidewalk and road, creating a sinkhole about 6 feet deep and between 30 and 40 feet across, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Moulton Niguel Water Director of Operations James E. Smith said his crews weren’t sure why the 20-inch water pipe broke.

“It’s just one of those things,” Smith said. “There’s no apparent cause for it.”

Besides interrupting water services, the pipe and sinkhole caused traffic problems in the residential community.

Aliso Viejo Middle School Principal Sherine Smith said the CHP rerouted morning bus and other school traffic to a side street to avoid the sinkhole, which was about a mile from the school.

She said portable toilets and bottled water also were brought on campus to serve the school’s 1,250 students and staff.

“The kids have been great,” Smith said. “We’ve had instruction as usual.”

Smith said she expected to keep the portable toilets on campus for a day or two more until regular water service is permanently restored.

Other residents experienced disruption by the water break and sinkhole.

Jozef Meulenber was at his daughter’s house when the water pipe broke.

The Nevada resident said he could not hear the water as it burst through the underground pipe, but knew something was wrong when he went into the bathroom.

“I went to take a shower and there was no water,” Meulenber said.

Moulton’s James Smith estimated that full water service would be restored to residents and Aliso Viejo school by Tuesday afternoon.

He expected the road to be repaired and open again by the end of this week or early next week.