WATER MAIN BREAK: CoMo Facebooker chronicles gusher

Neighbors wake up to low shower pressure -- and an ice rink in the making

 
COLUMBIA, Mo 1/5/14 (Beat Byte) -- A water main break near Stadium and Ash streets early this morning found a fast-thinking chronicler in Columbia resident Wendahl Martin, who photographed the gusher and shared a Facebook video close to reaching "viral" proportions. 

Taken in the proverbial "eye of the storm," the 11-second video shows water bursting through freezing cold air like a spring flood. 

The break occurred around 4 a.m. at the intersection of a private water line and the city's 16-inch main.  It covered the streets with over three feet of water, reducing water pressure for thousands of nearby residents and stopping water entirely for many others. 

Deputy city manager Tony St. Romaine took calls about it on the KFRU Sunday Morning Roundtable shortly after 9 a.m. 

A church homeless shelter was without water because of the break, a caller reported, asking St. Romaine when it would be fixed.  "I don't know, but if you give me your phone number, I'll call the water and light department and call you back when I find out," he responded. 

 

Martin also took several photos of the water main flood, shared on his public Facebook page.   The gusher was finally capped around 2 p.m., city officials have reported.