TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — UPDATE
Neighborhoods near Speedway and Pantano looked like a steady stream on Wednesday afternoon. Water was flowing in between homes and into the streets, even reaching the main road.
“I said oh great it’s happening again,” Vicki Relich said. “It’s just gonna happen. It’s just one of those freak things.”
Relich said she did have water earlier in the day but it shut off around five in the evening. Now, she said, she has flowing water in her home again.
However, around one in the afternoon Relich got a call from her neighbor about the water, prompting her to go back home from work. When she got back home she saw that the water flow was so strong that it tore through the side of her house and pushed rocks and gravel throughout her street.
“I work close. I’m just a mile away and I do have a computer and stuff from home, so I can work from home,” she said.
Tucson Water said around 500 people were out of running water. The cause, they said, was a water main break.
Fatima Molina is Relich’s neighbor who was also out of water on Wednesday.
“I went in the patio just to see if everything was working and I saw it flooded. All the grass was flooded,” Molina said.
The water was flowing so strong that it went past Molina’s wall and into her backyard, making puddles in her grass and near her pool.
“I don’t like seeing all this water wasting,” Molina said.
When there is a water main break like this and there’s this much water, Tucson Water said they have to shut off the water.
“I don’t have any water and as you can see, there’s like a lot of water,” Molina said, pointing to the flooded sidewalk in front of her home.
About six years ago, both Molina and Relich said there was a worse situation that led to more water in the streets.
“It eroded pretty far up last time,” Relich said about the incident.
This time neighbors are hoping the city can help with damage just like last time.
“They finally came out and took care of it, and made it all nice and pretty,” Relich said.
Tucson Water said the City of Tucson’s Risk management Department might be able to help pay for damage. They said people with damage should call them.
_________
Some Eastside residents are without water Wednesday afternoon after a water main break in the neighborhood southeast of East Speedway Boulevard and North Pantano Road, according to Tucson Water.
The water flowed through neighborhood streets and onto Speedway beginning around early afternoon. Some customers were left without water as a result.
Tucson Water says crews are finalizing repairs this evening and expect customers to have water by about 8 p.m.
Tucson Water also asks that drivers remain clear of the areas as crews continue to work.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
