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SALT LAKE CITY — At least four homes were temporarily uninhabitable Saturday after a broken water main left them flooded overnight.
Residents made arrangements to stay with family or friends while crews began piecing the roads, yards and homes back together.
"Salt Lake City has a no-fault ordinance that allows us to take care of the problem and restore things as best we can," said Tom Ward, deputy director for the city's Department of Public Utilities. "Obviously it's a mess here today, but we'll take care of it."
Approximately 35 structures reported some kind of damage related to the broken 48-inch pipeline that runs underneath the intersection at 1700 South and Foothill Drive. Salt Lake City officials estimate 2.5 million gallons escaped from the high-capacity line.
At least eight buildings, Ward said, have interior water damage, including the Montessori Community School, which has been at 2416 E. 1700 South since 2005.
"We have so many shelves and wooden materials, it could be thousands of dollars," said Robyn Eriwata-Buchanan, owner and head of the school. She said water gushed through the yard and into the school through a window well in the back and reached up to 8 inches in some places.
Eriwata-Buchanan was overcome with emotion as she assessed the work that will need to be done before normal schooling can continue.
"It'll be fine," she said. "We'll be OK."
The school will be closed Monday, however, as staff tries to salvage what they can from the muddy mess.
Electricity was also off at some of the affected buildings, to avoid additional problems, according to the Salt Lake City Fire Department, which was assisting in the cleanup process. Water from the pipeline was reportedly shut off within an hour of the 8:30 p.m. break on Friday, however, the pipe continued to drain throughout the night.
I've never seen anything quite like that. It was rushing through here like crazy and the neighbor's yard was visiting as it came through and there were bowling ball-size rocks rolling through with it.
–Dale Angell, resident
"I've never seen anything quite like that," said Dale Angell, who lives on 1700 South. "It was rushing through here like crazy and the neighbor's yard was visiting as it came through and there were bowling ball-size rocks rolling through with it."
In addition to mud and water, large pieces of concrete and plants were pushed from home to home.
David Jenen and his wife had just completed renovating a home on the street to sell. He said some water leaked through the foundation, but overall, "we got off lucky."
"It was bad, but OK," he said. "Now we're in the cleanup phase and we'll get it back on the market."
The cause of the break remains under investigation, although Ward said that big pipes work best with a lot of applied pressure.
"The bigger the pipe, the more force that pressure has," he said. The city planned to finish repairing the pipe by the end of the day Saturday and would begin surface restoration on Sunday.
Landscaping and other work would continue as necessary, and the city was heading up all repairs.
Ward said he hoped to open the road to traffic prior to the Monday morning commute.
Any residents who experienced property damage as a result of the water line breach and have not yet been contacted by city officials are encouraged to call Salt Lake City Public Utilities at 801-483-6700. Claim forms can be accessed online at http://www.slcgov.com/sites/default/files/documents/attorney/2013/NoticeOfClaimForm.pdf
