Large water main break in Santa Cruz repaired

Thousands of gallons of water rushed down city streets in Santa Cruz Friday night. Crews said it was a large water main that broke on the 400 block of Marnell Avenue. The road will be closed overnight while crews repair the damage.

“We try so hard not to overuse and to see it all waste away is really unfortunate,” said Santa Cruz resident Kelly Enix.
It was a shocking sight during a drought. Good water all going to waste, gushing down the street. The leak was reported to the water department at 4:30 p.m. and by 5 p.m. the main was shut off.

“It was flooded all the way up to our driveway, there was water completely running down the street, thousands of gallons a minute,” said Santa Cruz resident Anne Berne.

Neighbors tried not to let it go to waste. People started grabbing buckets and pumps.

“There’s water everywhere and we’re taking advantage and we’re pumping it into the backyard to water our plants,” said Enix.

It’s still unclear what caused the water main to break. NewsChannel 5 reached out to the water department but never heard back.