A water main broke on Fourth Street Thursday night near the sheriff’s office headquarters and will shut off a portion of the busy road for an indefinite amount of time.
About a mile away, a second leak developed Friday morning after 10 a.m. on Madera Court off Central Avenue, prompting city crews to shut off water service to residents in the area as water bubbled out of cracks in the pavement and along the gutters.
It was not immediately known if the two leaks were related.
The Fourth Street water main broke shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday near the downtown Hollister area.
It is unclear when the main break might be repaired completely, and it is possible it might not occur before the end of the Friday workday when many commuters return to Hollister on that thoroughfare.
“That section of Fourth Street is closed indefinitely, said Jim Hart, a utility official with Hollister public works. “It’s very, very thick pavement there to try and get through.”
Hart said it appears most customers affected who are without water include the nearby county offices. The County Administration Building neighbors the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office headquarters on Fourth Street. Water is available on the other side of the block at the courthouse, he said.
Traffic was being detoured around the repair site through residential neighborhoods.
On Madera Court, resident Victor Torres said water coming up through cracks on the street also was an issue last Thursday.
“We called twice, and the city didn’t get back to us,” he said, though the water did stop flowing. “There were bubbles here, bubbles there,” he added, as water gurgled and mud flowed into the gutters in front of his house.
City crews showed up within 15 minutes of the report of the water leak and shut off water to the street at 10:51 a.m. They told residents gathered outside of their homes that they weren’t sure when water service would be restored.
