Water main break causes road to buckle in Alamo

ALAMO, Calif. (KGO) -- A water main break in Alamo flooded homes and prompted officials to shut down a major roadway Wednesday morning.

Crews capped a water main break that was reported at 7 a.m. on Danville Boulevard near Hemme Avenue.

One home, with one bedroom and one bath was severely damaged. About a foot of water washed into the living area and the bedroom.

A pet pig named Rose was inside one of the flooded cottages. The onslaught of water prompted her to get on the couch. "Yeah, she can swim a little bit thank God. We take her out on a boat, so when I heard I was a little worried, but I knew she can handle herself," Johnny Thomas said.

It was a gusher that buckled busy Danville Boulevard and damaged four nearby homes, one of them seriously. "When the crews got out here there was damage to a few of the homes here and a 10-inch cast iron main line from 1931 had burst," EBMUD spokesperson Abby Figueroa said.

Officials say the 10-inch cast iron pipe that was installed in 1931 and was corroded caused the water main break. "Typically pipes break for a couple of reasons. We've got age, corrosion or ground movement, so it could've been a combination of any of those things," Figueroa said.

The pipe was replaced with PVC. EBMUD officials say they are doing this type of repair all along their aging East Bay infrastructure at least 800 to 1,000 times per year.