Utility officials were continuing to investigate what caused a 60-inch water main to burst in South San Francisco on Friday, sending more than a million gallons of water down streets and into homes.
A leak was first detected where a 12-inch water supply pipeline connected to a 60-inch pipeline on Elm Street and Park Way at about 9:45 a.m., San Francisco Public Utilities Commission manager of water supply David Briggs said today.
Some time between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., what was first a small leak turned into a geyser shooting water 60 feet into the air, Briggs said.
Emergency responders initially couldn't get within 20 feet of the rupture because of the amount of water gushing from the break, he said.
As many as a dozen homes, 10 vehicles, sections of surrounding sidewalk and public and private landscaping were damaged.
The SFPUC was putting every available resource toward assessing the damage and immediately processing claims from private citizens and the city of South San Francisco, Briggs said.
No one was injured, and residents have been allowed back into their homes.
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The section of pipe that burst had recently been installed as part of the SFPUC's $4.6 billion Water System Improvement Program, which aims to upgrade and seismically retrofit the Hetch Hetchy water system.
The pipeline had been put back into service about two weeks ago, Briggs said.
SFPUC investigators were still working to determine what caused the pipeline to burst, which could take another two or three days.
