A geyser of water erupted in northeast Fort Worth on Monday, causing damage to trees and at least five residences at 8597 Trinity Boulevard.
Workers from a “major telecommunications company” struck a city of Fort Worth water main, sending a torrent of high-pressure water into the air and leaving 20 households without water Monday afternoon, according to Fort Worth Water Department spokesman Mary Gugliuzza.
Susie Clark, who has lived at 8604 Trinity Vista Trail for 23 years, showed the Star-Telegram the damage in her living room. Clark stated that she arrived home to a “Yellowstone geyser” blasting onto her house.
Clark returned home from work Monday to find more than a foot of water in her home, and the ceiling of her bedroom had collapsed.
She had to wait for approximately an hour at the end of her street while city crews tried to turn off the water.
“It is devastating. “That’s the only word I can think of devastating,” Clark remarked.
She felt fortunate that her family artifacts were preserved, but she claimed her entire home would need to be redone.
The city will keep her up in a hotel until September 2, but Clark expects her to stay gone longer.
Clark’s home appeared to have suffered the most damage, while some of her neighbors’ homes were flooded.
The break has been isolated, but the city must clean debris surrounding a damaged valve before water service can be restored to the affected homes, Gugliuzza said around 3 p.m. Monday.
She hoped that the work would be completed within a few hours. Gugliuzza declined to say whose telecoms provider was working in the area. In early August, the city got a request for assistance in locating its water connections via 811; however, the city requested that the telecom firm postpone the job, she said.
Texas 811 requests are only valid for 14 days, and the city did not receive a follow-up request, Gugliuzza stated.
The broken line supplies the majority of Hurst’s water, city authorities claimed in a Facebook post around 3:30 p.m. “To maintain adequate water system pressure,” the City of Hurst is requesting everyone to refrain from using outside watering/irrigation for the next 24 hours. We also ask that you limit your water use to vital business and personal purposes. “The city will provide an update within the next 24 hours.”
Harrison Mantas has been covering Fort Worth’s government, agencies, and people since September 2021. He enjoys live-tweeting city hall meetings to help his fellow Fort Worth residents understand what’s going on.