Broken water main floods Cal Heights streets, leaving several neighborhoods without water
City utility employees were working to restore water service Wednesday afternoon.
Long Beach Utilities officials are investigating what caused a water main to release a torrent near Orange Avenue and East Wardlow Road late Wednesday morning, creating a muddy mess and leaving some homes and businesses with no water.
A water main near the intersection broke, affecting water pressure in the California Heights, Los Cerritos and Bixby Knolls neighborhoods, utilities spokesperson Joy Conteras said, and it may take some time to get service back to normal.
It’s not yet known what caused the problem, but the flooding caused some trepidation for workers and diners at the Blackbird Cafe on Orange just north of Wardlow.
Cafe owner Debbie Colacion said she was running an errand when one of her employees called her around 11:19 a.m.
“I have no idea what happened, we just had a bunch of water — it was like a river coming down Orange Avenue,” Colacion said.
Water came up into the cafe’s patio and a few early lunch customers were stranded in the restaurant until staff could get them to a dry path — out the back door onto Wardlow.
“We had to close because we had no idea how long it was going to be, and we still don’t have any information,” Colacion said, adding that the water left behind dirt and sand when it receded.
Contreras said homes and businesses in the area may experience loss of water pressure or have no water available, but officials hope to provide an update soon on when service will return to normal.
