Hollister
– Fourth Street residents are facing their third water main
break in six months.
Hollister – Fourth Street residents are facing their third water main break in six months.
As water welled up Tuesday afternoon, sections of street and sidewalk crumbled and were pushed off the ground. Fourth Street west of Line Street flooded, and at least one resident who stepped out to survey the damage sloshed around in rubber boots.
The break should be repaired sometime early today, Hollister Community Services Director Clay Lee said. A water main that’s broken twice before in the last six months caused the flooding, he said.
“It’s a 40-year-old, cast-iron, 12-inch water main,” Lee said.
Resident Anna Medina had been washing dishes when the pressure dropped.
“I asked my daughter, ‘Did you turn the water on?'” Medina said. “Then I looked out the window.”
Medina worried what she’ll do if the water remains shut off for several days.
“How are we going to shower?” she said.
City employees cut up the concrete on Tuesday afternoon and planned to work through the evening, Lee said. The city closed off Fourth Street between Line and College streets, and cars will have to continue taking detours until workers finish cleaning up, Lee said.
