Broken hydrant creates slushy mess in Sandy


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SANDY — Monday is off to a rough start for some Sandy residents who woke up to water rushing into their basements. Firefighters said a hydrant broke overnight in the freezing cold temperatures.

The broken hydrant sits in the middle of the neighborhood at 3200 E. Bell Canyon Road (10100 South), which is on a hill just below Wasatch Boulevard, and water had nowhere to go but down the street into homes.

The broken hydrant was discovered around 2 a.m. It appears the cold temperatures caused it to freeze and burst. Firefighters said water rushed into two homes and into the garage of a third home. They quickly went door to door, alerting residents as crews tried to shut off the water.

"The fire department pounded on the door at 2, 3 o'clock in the morning," said resident Chris Root. "I had about 6 inches in my driveway that was passing through my garage and back out onto the street."

"I checked my basement," he continued. "The carpet was dry but the garage was flooded and my driveway was completely flooded. (It) had about 4-5 inches of water in it, and water was flowing right past the house and through the yard."

Eventually public works employees shut off the water in the neighborhood, stopping the flow to the hydrant. Now they're repairing the broken hydrant.

In the meantime, crews worked with affected residents, pumping the water out of their homes.

Battalion Chief Annette Woodhead said, "We've got two homes with water in the window wells, and it's seeping into the basement from the window wells. One has a few inches, the other has a few more."

Root said he's shoveling snow and slush, trying to create a path for the water to flow away from the house. It is so cold, when the water is pushed to the street it creates an ice rink. Plows have been called in to help that situation.

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