Water main break in Ventura leaves residents without water overnight

Some Ventura residents and businesses were without water overnight after a mainline break in midtown Friday afternoon.

Water service was restored for all customers by 11:30 a.m. Saturday, although surface repairs continued.

The break near South Mills Road and Dean Drive was reported to the Ventura Police Department around 2:07 p.m. Friday, said Cmdr. Sarah Heard. Some restaurants, including a Chipotle, had to close because they had no hot water, she said.

The city's water agency, Ventura Water, deployed crews to the site for emergency repairs.

That work continued Saturday morning, said Richard Martin, Ventura Water's assistant general manager, in an email.

Crews had been working steadily through the night to repair a blown section of the mainline. The section was very deep, at 9 feet, Martin said. Using trenching and shoring, the affected segment had been cut out by morning.

A photo showed a section of the new line, colored bright blue, at the base of the deep hole.

Before noon, crews had backfilled the hole.

"The street is plated for now while the slurry settles, but everyone has water," Martin wrote around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Police dispatchers had been receiving calls from residents Saturday morning about the lack of water.

Neal Abramson, a resident of the area, said in an email Friday water had been shut off for several blocks that included the 280-unit Beunaventura Gardens and a Lowe's home improvement store, among other sites.

Water had been restored to the Lowe's Friday evening, Martin said.

Abramson's taps were back online on around 10 a.m. Saturday, he said.

This story may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Water main break in Ventura leaves some without water overnight