Residents cut off from water supply for up to 20 hours
A corroded, 12” cast iron EBMUD water delivery pipe burst open around 4:30 pm on Wednesday August 2nd, rapidly transforming a 200 yard swath of Lincoln Ave. into a temporary creek, as the water rose over the curb and overflowed into scores of front yards and flooding one basement with about three feet of water.
Several storm drains on the 2000 and 3000 blocks and two on adjacent High Street could not keep up with the torrents coursing down the street from the high pressure water line as water inched its way up into front yards or down into low lying areas, notably one basement which took on about three feet of water down its sloped driveway.
An Alameda Fire Department crew from Battalion One arrived on scene first, at about 5 pm after Alameda Police were called and notified them and EBMUD at around 4:45.
Firefighters tried to stem the flow by shutting off a hydrant valve under a street cap to no avail, as seven, separate EBMUD main water line valves had to be located and turned off, one by one, by an EBMUD supervisor who arrived around 5:40.
Though in plain view and in a public space where one has no lawful expectation of privacy, he warned not to video or photograph him for unstated reasons, and his request was honored.
Residents and onlookers slowly gathered in their front yards or on the side of the street where the sidewalk was not overflowing with sand laden water to witness the rising tide as the leak surged full force.
One neighbor, Tim Corfey, who lives on the 2000 block of Lincoln, said that his wife called out to him in their house to say that, “the street was inundated with water.”
“I came out to take a look, and it was flowing like a stream, as you can see. The whole street is raised up about a foot, and a lot of sand has been washed out into the street out from under the pavement,” he said as he gazed at his front yard awash.
Corfey said that when he waded through the foot high flow to pull his car away from the curb, “it felt like I pulled out of about six inches of sand.”
Corfey had just completed an expensive renovation of his front yard for an upcoming party and now has to face the prospect of making a claim with EBMUD to seek reimbursement for needed repairs, as do a number of folks in the vicinity.
“I was pulling up my plants floating by,” he said forlornly.
Both Firefighters and residents expressed concern that the surging water and underground void created by displaced sand would cause a dangerous sink hole, impelling AFD members to repeatedly turn back single minded, East bound motorists determined to drive on by despite orange street closure cones, a massive Hook and Ladder fire rig dispatched to the scene, and through the flooded street.
With the water finally cut off, repair crews from EBMUD toiled in the dark to dig up the area and remove the faulty section of pipe before repairs were completed at a time an EBMUD spokesperson could not specify.
By morning, clean up crews from Alameda’s Public Works Dept. along with those from EBMUD, were on scene and busy with the arduous task of skip loading, water vacuuming and hand shoveling the tons of wet sand that remained in the aftermath.
Some of it went back to help fill the nearly 6 foot deep, 8’ x 12’ chasm that the night crews dug.
EBMUD Water Distribution Crew Foreman, Delorean Johnson said on scene that the culprit for the leak was a cast iron water main pipe from the late 1880’s that incurred “electrolysis”, in common parlance, corrosion, and burst with high pressure water forcing its way up through the sand and asphalt before surfacing to the street, sidewalk and yards.
A passing motorist or slight movement of the earth can trigger an aging pipe to fracture, said another EBMUD crew member.
Johnson said that Alameda has what EBMUD terms “Pre-War” pipes, dating from times when they were installed 80 to 100 or more years ago, to “War “ and “ Post War” pipes.
The “War” era pipes, from the 1940’s when high-grade steel was prioritized for military needs in World War II, are even more subject to breakage than the older ones, said Johnson, though this burst was clearly an exception.
EBMUD currently uses a plastic PVC compound and is in the process of replacing key underwater crossing pipelines between Oakland/Alameda and Alameda main island to Harbor Bay Isle to make them more earthquake resistant.
In the meantime, its water pipe delivery system continues to age with about 2,400 miles of cast iron and 1950’s era asbestos-cement pipes still underground.
As of 2019 EBMUD listed 4,200 miles of pipeline in its system, and replacement of old pipe with new is a slow moving process. EBMUD is shooting to increase its pipeline renewal rate from 10 miles a year to 40 miles per year.
EBMUD has a Risk Management phone number to call to discuss damage claims, 510-287-0175 or customers can file an online claim by searching: ”EBMUD File A Claim”.
Residents may file directly with EBMUD, though EBMUD clearly prefers that filings be done first with the insurance company, presumably to minimize their payouts, adding that no investigation by EBMUD will be needed to determine the cause of the damage and value of property impacts.
A resident said that EBMUD was sending a claims specialist to the area sometime in the late morning of Aug 3rd, which was later confirmed over the phone by EBMUD spokesperson Andrea Polk.
EBMUD notes on its website that it does not perform repairs for property damage, and that the affected party needs to hire out an independent entity to do so and then seek reimbursement.
VIDEO OF FLOOD INCIDENT
