Pearson Road is usable again after a water main broke Wednesday evening at about 7 p.m. and flooded the area between Skyway and Foster Road.
Paradise Irrigation District General Manager George Barber said the line was an old steel pipe that had probably been leaking for a while.
“But because it was on a slope, the water wasn’t surfacing for us to find the leak earlier,” he said.
When the pipe did break, the force of the water pushed the steel up about four inches and caused a 12-inch gash, he said.
Barber didn’t yet have an estimate on how much water was lost. Since the broken line was isolated to between Skyway and Foster Road, only about two or three residents and businesses were affected, he said.
The road was blocked off and PID crews were out until about 3:45 a.m. fixing the line and putting in a temporary road patch.
The leak caused “significant road damage,” he said.
Essentially, crews were doing a leak repair and a road repair at the same time, he said. It was a standard job, he said, but it took some effort because crews also had to deal with tree roots and traffic, which was diverted with the help of Paradise Police volunteers.
The patch job makes Pearson Road a little bumpy, he said and PID is working to smooth it out until the permanent repairs can be made in a couple of months.
Barber didn’t have an estimated cost of the repairs.
“They’re still coming in,” he said.
He said he met with Town of Paradise officials Thursday morning to put together a bid package for a company to come in and do the permanent road repairs.
The Post will update the story as more information becomes available.
