Broken Water Main Damages 2 Studio City Homes

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — A broken water main damaged two homes early Friday morning in the San Fernando Valley.

The 8-inch pipe burst around 2 a.m. at the intersection of Goodland Place and Halkirk Street in Studio City, the Department of Water and Power said.

"At first it sounded like a cracking, then we thought it was actually hailing because what we figured was actually asphalt was dropping on our house," resident Donna Carsten said. "We came out to see Old Faithful in front of our house."

"We were sleeping and thought that we were in a typhoon, woke up and see this giant geyser of water 40 feet into the air," Erik Rehder said.

The DWP shut down valves on both sides of the break. Approximately 60 nearby residences were without water as homeowners tried to assess the damage.

"Water came through the windows . . . there might be some damage to the roof," Carsten said.

It was unclear what caused the cast iron pipe to break, but DWP officials said age could be a factor as some of the pipes in the area are more than 70 years old.

"The pressure here is pretty good, that's why the water went up so high," DWP employee Mike Chavez said.

Water was restored to residents around 12:45 p.m.

Friday's break was located about a block from a major water main break on Coldwater Canyon in September 2009.