By Mary O’KEEFE

It was a tough morning for commuters on Wednesday when a water main broke during rush hour on the Foothill (210) Freeway. The call came in to CHP at 6:15 a.m.

At one point all eastbound lanes of the 210 were closed from the Pennsylvania Avenue off-ramp to the Ocean View Boulevard off-ramp as crews from Crescenta Valley Water District (CVWD) and Caltrans responded to the break. It was discovered the equipment belonged to CVWD.

“There [was] a large 12″ main break of a pipeline going down Rosemont and over the 210. The [eastbound] freeway [was] closed off at Pennsylvania Avenue and [vehicles were redirected] to the Ocean View Boulevard [on-ramp]. Two valves were turned off, which we’re hoping [will stop] the flow. In the meantime, excess water is blowing off a 4″ outlet under the overpass on the eastbound side. Caltrans, CHP, sheriff and [other emergency responders] were on-site. We are hoping that, based on how our water pressure zones are designed, there will be no extended interruption in service,” said James Lee of CVWD.

He added the focus of the CVWD at the time was to stop the water, drain the water that accumulated on the road and get traffic moving.

Lanes 1, 2 and 3 of the eastbound 210 were reopened about 7:42 a.m., according to CHP Officer Boyd.

Eastbound lanes 4 and 5 were kept closed, as was the Ocean View off-ramp as crews continued to work.

Lee said the first step of the CVWD was to get the traffic flowing again, then assess the problem and then do the repair.

CVWD has turned off the water to this particular pipe. Customers were not affected as the water was rerouted.

“We are going to be on this issue for a while,” Lee said.

CVWD is working with Caltrans to find an entry point near the Rosemont overpass so crews can assess the actual damage to the pipe. It may be a long split or pinhole damage; they will not know until they get “eyes on the problem.”

“The idea is to put a liner on the pipe,” he said.

A liner will slide over the pipe to stop the leak; however, that is just a preliminary plan until it is determined what is the actual damage.