NE Bend water main break floods area, closes several streets

(Update: Adding video, comments from gym manager)

Thousands of gallons of water a minute poured from break for nearly an hour

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 12-inch water main broke and flooded an area of northeast Bend Wednesday morning, closing several streets and prompting emergency repairs, officials said.

Morning commuters were advised to avoid the area, if possible.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a report around 5:20 a.m. of flooding in the area of Northeast Second Street and Penn Avenue, Bend police Sgt. Tommy Russell said. The caller reported large amounts of water coming from somewhere underground.

Officers arrived, assessed the situation and had to close several roads, also closing the parking lot of the nearby Fitness 1440 gym due to flooding. Patrons were asked to move their vehicles out of the way of the floodwaters. 

The water had not yet threatened any structures, Russell said, but officers had to close Olney Avenue between First and Third streets, and Second Street from Quimby to Olney avenues.

Russell said the street closures could expand, but as of Wednesday morning, Third Street had not been closed.

Troy Beck, utility field operations manager for the city, said a 12-inch cast-iron water main ruptured and let loose an estimated 8,000 gallons a minute of water for about 45 to 50 minutes. With excavation work underway, Beck said they don't yet know the age of the line or what caused the break.

Three commercial buildings lost water service due to the line break on Olney Avenue, the official said: Fitness 1440, Mid Oregon Credit Union and the Wendy's, where they said the drive-thru remained open.

Fitness 1440 Manager Maggie Smith said, "So I was coming home from a friend's house after watching the election, and I got a text message from a member here, and he said we now have a lakefront property."

Smith added with a laugh, "Hey, it's 2020 -- what do you expect?"

The city is expecting some nearby properties may have been damaged by the floodwaters, but Beck said they didn't yet know the specifics, noting that most businesses in the area still had water service.

The repairs to the water main were expected to take five to six hours, if things go well, Beck said. But after the excavation work and repairs are completed, restoring and repairing the pavement will take longer.