Water line breaks in downtown Yuma

A wet time was had in downtown Yuma for a while Tuesday, the result of a 58-year-old water line breaking.

The break occurred late morning with the failure of a gasket between two pipes in a 16-inch water line installed in 1952, reported Greg Hyland, city spokesman. The water line break was near the North End Community Center (the former Yuma Adult Center), 160 E. 1st St.

City crews had the break repaired by 2:45 p.m., although some cleanup of the area was continuing, Hyland said.

While the water line was out of service, lines were bypassed to provide water to the Happy Greek Chef and The Pub, Hyland said. However, Main St. Cinemas, Hotel San Carlos and the North End Community Center were without water for a while.

The flow of traffic on 1st Street was restricted during the repair, but was fully restored by midafternoon, Hyland said.

The water line break is but the latest emergency that has been keeping city crews busy in recent weeks, he said in response to a question why the city's holiday banners haven't been taken down yet.

Crews worked overtime during the storm that struck the area a couple of weeks ago, and since then have been busy with storm-related repairs to the streets, he said.