Napa water main breaks interrupt flow of service

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- The Napa earthquake is still causing problems more than two months later. The issue is broken pipes. There have been nearly 190 since the earthquake hit.

Crews on Saturday continued to make repairs to a water main break on Browns Valley Road. Signs are posted nearby warning neighbors that service will be affected until at least next Friday.

Several blocks away from the repairs, Adriana Colombo and her daughter watered their front yard plants. What should be a high pressure geyser, they say is noticeably less powerful. Inside, they describe lower water flow at the kitchen sink than they're used to. But they say today is better than it has been recently.

"The other night, we thought that somebody else had the water on somewhere because it was so low when we were trying to do the dishes," said Colombo.

This site has been under repair for a week, but on Friday a second water main sprung a leak miles away near Highway 12 and Highway 29. That's where an earlier leak nearby had just been repaired.

A Napa spokesperson said these water issues are related to the 6.0 earthquake that struck in August. Residents have become used to dealing with an assortment of water interruptions since then.

Joseph Pena lives near the downtown Napa area that was hit hard by the quake. He says his neighborhood water main broke two days ago.

"They just turned off our water for a couple hours until they fixed it in our neighborhood," said Joseph Pena.

City crews responded fast and they already fixed that problem, but the newest water main break is proving a little more difficult. Signs set up throughout the neighborhoods now have extended dates for this repair to be finished.

"They were only supposed to take until Friday. And then I saw some gentlemen changing the dates on them yesterday," said Colombo.

Those who live in the impacted area are asked to turn off or avoid using water between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Repairs to the two separate water main breaks in Napa are expected to be completed by Nov. 21. In the meantime, officials assure customers that the water supply is safe and the breaks have not affected water quality.

A temporary water station has been set up on the north side of Century Oaks Park.

Bay City News contributed to this story.