A Mission Hills water pipe break sent water pouring through one resident's backyard Monday morning, and some residents said it could have been prevented.
A lateral pipe for the fire hydrant broke around 5 a.m. at the intersection of Fort Stockton Drive and Stephens Road.
Police knocked on the neighbor’s door shortly after they noticed a river of water rushing down his backyard into a nearby canyon.
“Water went right through our garage, then down into the basement and flooded the basement full of mud and standing water,” Angela Garner said. “Then down through the property, erosion and debris left down there.”
The City of San Diego said the pipe serves a fire hydrant, so no residents lost any water and no homes lost service. Firefighters came and shut off the valve.
Neighbors in the area said they called the Water Department several times last week when just a trickle of water was coming out of the cracks in the street.
The city says this is a lateral pipe for the fire hydrant and not a main. They say they are looking into previous visits by city crews to the site to find out what happened.
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No further information was immediately available.
