UPDATE: Santa Cruz Water Dept. said water main break won’t impact water bills

UPDATE 5/9/15 4:40 p.m.: Marnell Avenue in Santa Cruz is back open following a water main break Friday evening.

The Santa Cruz Water Department couldn’t tell News Channel 5 how many gallons of water rushed down the streets but said it’s not a significant amount taking the city uses ten million gallons of water a day.

Residents in the area say it took the department over an hour to turn the water off.

Some residents told News Channel 5 they were worried that this would impact their water bill. Good news is, it wont. The water department said water bills are determined by meters on houses. The main that broke has nothing to do with those meters, the water department said.

UPDATE 5/8/15 10:13 p.m.: Thousands of gallons of water flooded the streets due to the water main break.

Marnell Avenue to Fairmount will be closed for a few hours while crews continue to clean up.

UPDATE 5/8/15 6:15p.m.: The Santa Cruz Water Department has managed to shut off the water in the neighborhood around the water main that burst. Crews say it was an old, but very large water main that “blew up,” and they are working to repair it. The repairs could take up to eight hours.

UPDATE 5/8/15 5:41p.m.: Residents between Fairmount Avenue and Melrose are trying to save as much water as they can as the water from a broken pipeline has been flowing for what they say is about an hour. Homeowners in this area are apart of the Stage Three Emergency water restrictions and say they are upset to see this happen as they try so hard to conserve.

Residents had buckets and water pumps trying to re-use the water spilling down the street on their lawns, plants, and gardens.

Click here to see interview from resident pumping water

Still no word on the cause of the water main break or how many gallons of water were lost. This story will be updated.

5/8/15 5:13p.m.: Crews are trying to fix a water main break in Santa Cruz. It is happening in the neighborhood near Morrissey Boulevard, next to John Franks Park.

Police are at the scene and are detouring traffic from the area.

NewsChannel 5 will have more on this story as information becomes available.