Neighborhood comes together to keep homes from flooding after water line break

ST. GEORGE — A small army of neighbors came together to save two homes they feared would flood due to a water pipe break up the street that sent a river flowing toward the homes at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Bloomington Hills area Tuesday evening.

Over 50 people showed up to protect two homes in their neighborhood in the Bloomington Hills area from being flooded by a growing pool of water created by a water line break up the road, St. George, Utah, July 14, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Around 9 p.m., a 6-inch water pipe under the road at the intersection of Lakespur Road and Crockett Circle broke sending a flood of water toward homes at the end of the circle. As the water reached the end of the cul-de-sac, it began to pool in front of the homes and creep up their driveways to closed garage doors.

In response to the sudden threat of water getting into the homes, over 50 people began to show up with push brooms and shovels and started pushing the water toward a drainage ditch located on the side of one of the houses, which drains into the golf course behind the neighborhood.

“It was running like a river down there,” said Paula Houston, one of the homeowners who witnessed the horde of neighbors appear to save her home potential flooding.

Water running from the broken line was shut off by responding city water crews around 9:30 p.m. This allowed the neighbors to start making headway on the large pool that had formed at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Some of the neighbors were originally standing in an estimated 6 inches of water as they helped push it toward the ditch. Thanks to the neighborhood’s collective efforts, the pool gradually shrank and disappeared by 10 p.m.

“It’s amazing,” Houston said of her neighbors. “They’ve been really wonderful. They jumped right in and grabbed every broom and shovel they could find and went to work.”

A collapsed part of Lakespur Road where a water line broker underneath the street, St. George, Utah, July 14, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

While some water did get into the garages of Houston and her next-door neighbor, it was not enough to cause damage to anything inside. No water made it into the interior of the homes beyond that point.

Scott Taylor, the water services manager for the city of St. George, said that while the situation was unfortunate, water line breaks are not uncommon.

“It happens, and we know how to take care of it,” Taylor said while standing near the collapsed part of Lakespur Road where the pipe had broken and created a sinkhole.

Water to multiple homes in the area was shut off due to the line break and subsequent repair by city work crews who worked until 4 a.m. Wednesday.

The city ended up installing a new pipe and valves in order to better isolate the impacted area during any future line breaks, Taylor said in a text to St. George News Wednesday morning.

While at the scene of the water line break Tuesday night, Taylor noted how impressed he was to see so many people come out to help their neighbors.

“I’m grateful I have such wonderful neighbors,” Houston said.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!