At about 5:40 a.m., a 4-inch main broke in front of 127 S. Seventh St., spokesman Charles Hardy said.
About an hour later, another main break was reported about 2.5 miles away in the 3200 block of Regatta Boulevard, he said.
The water on South Seventh Street caused the asphalt to buckle and flooded the roadway and nearby yards, Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan said.
About a dozen customers in the area lost water service. Crews repaired the pipe around noon, but when they put water back into the main, it sprung a leak, Hardy said.
Crews this afternoon were redoing the repair to the pipe and expected to be done and have service restored by 6 p.m., he said.
The 12-inch main on Regatta Boulevard broke in an industrial part of the city, leaving one business, Bio-Rad Laboratories, without water service, Hardy said.
Crews had expected to repair the pipe by 3 p.m., but a 2-inch lateral pipe connected to the main was also found to be broken, so repairs were expected to last until at least 5 p.m., he said.
No property damage was reported at either location other than the damage done to the asphalt on the street, Hardy said.
There have been three water main breaks in Richmond in the past week. Before the two today, a main broke early Thursday morning on Francisco Way between Hazel and Barrett avenues.
That main break left 50 people without water service and caused damage to four residential properties before it was repaired, Hardy said.
Utility district crews are working to investigate the cause of all three breaks, but Hardy said it is believed they were all caused by simple wear and tear on the pipes.
