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John Daley reporting One Sandy neighborhood got a surprise this morning, a flood of water and mud coming down the hillside.
Near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon a massive 69-inch pipe comes down from Deer Creek, supplying lots of water to Sandy and Salt Lake City.
About 6:45 this morning, a valve on that pipe failed. It sent water rushing down into a neighborhood and a Utah power substation, knocking out power to thousands of customers.
Power was restored a short time later. There was no significant property damage, but it was a messy clean- up.
Roger Taylor, Sandy Homeowner: "They have a large aqueduct that comes from what I understand is Deer Creek, and runs right across the top of the hill and back. I am not sure what happened today and how it escaped out of the pipe, but the water came out of the pipe, and cut a big gorge and brought all the silt and debris into the power substation. And then the water runoff just started coming our way."
Mike Wilson, General Manager, Metropolitan Water Dist.: "When you load a pipeline, there is air that is trapped inside that needs to be released. And there is an air release valve that our investigation shows that is what the culprit is right now."
No significant damage, but there was erosion. It carved out a gully by the water on the hillside.
Metro water says they're making repairs and they say the pipe is secure.
