Water Main Break Shuts Down Part of Palm Avenue

A rupture in a 17-inch water main caused heavy flooding in Imperial Beach early Friday and shut down parts of Old Palm Avenue. The break between Third and Fourth streets was reported at 1:39 a.m., said a San Diego County Sheriff's Department dispatcher.

Deputies initially shut down Palm Avenue from Seacoast Drive to Fourth Street but, around 5 a.m., cut the closure back -- from Third Street to Fourth Street. Water in the area was shut down.

There were no evacuations, and no sinkholes developed, the dispatcher said, adding that the water started to recede about 5:15 a.m. 

Brian Baretto, a spokesman for California American Water, said approximately 200 customers in the vicinity of the break are without water as a result of the break.

"We're excavating the pipe and once we get down to the pipe we'll be able to determine what we need to fix and how quickly it will take for us to do that and restore water service for customers in the neighborhood," he said

City News Service contributed to this report.