Recycled water line ruptures near Fallbrook High; FPUD working on repairs

Crews were working to fix a ruptured water line that flooded part of a Fallbrook roadway for a short time Wednesday.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District was alerted to the leak around 5 a.m. when someone called the utility’s after-hours phone service to report water running across South Mission Road near Winterhaven Road, district spokesperson Noelle Denke said.

Crews arrived shortly thereafter and determined a 16-inch piece of pipe on a recycled water line had ruptured.

Service was shut off to 16 recycled water customers in the area, including Fallbrook High School and nearby nurseries, Denke said. Potable water remains available for each of the affected customers.

Workers from DigAlert, an underground utility locating service, arrived around 3:30 p.m. to mark areas where FPUD workers cannot dig into the ground to inspect the pipe and repair the leak.

Denke said crews expect to be able to fix the leak Wednesday night or Thursday morning, and service should be restored at some point Thursday.

South Mission Road was blocked for a time Wednesday morning but was reopened by 7 a.m.