JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Water is back on for about 130 JEA customers in Mandarin and Hartley Road between Casa Grande Drive and Hampton Road reopened around 7:30 p.m. Monday.
According to a JEA spokesperson, a 12-inch water main was broken sometime before 2 a.m. Officials are unsure what caused the water main break.
Neighbors said the break was so loud they could hear rushing water from their homes.
"No one could get through. We walked to see what was going on. Water is just flooding like torrents. We were sort of astounded," said resident Sandee Copeland. Her daughter was out walking their puppy when she noticed the streets were blocked off.
JEA officials said the area in which the break happened is dangerous to drive through, and until the break is repaired, people need to stay away.
"Safety is our No. 1 priority. That's why we encourage everyone to avoid the area while we are working, not only for their own safety but for the safety of our employees," JEA spokeswoman Gerri Boyce said.
Boyce said there will be intermittent water outages and poor water pressure in the area, but there is no need for customers to boil their water.
"We have to replace a 20-foot section, which is what we are doing now," Boyce said. "Before we can do that our system is like a grid and we have to turn valves on and off in order to isolate it. That's what we've done."