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Broken Main Causes Water Woes For Oakland Park Neighborhood

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Residents of an Oakland Park neighborhood were left high and dry after a ten-inch water main sprung a leak.

The county's Water and Wastewater Services (WWS) said the North Andrews Gardens area is being impacted by a "system failure" and they are trying to fix the problem as quick as possible. The break is along NE 69th Avenue just west of North Andrews Avenue.

The pipe sprung a leak in the same spot where large concrete power poles are being installed to replace old wooden ones.

"I haven't even had a shower yet and it's almost noon and it sucks," Richard Byrnes told CBS4's Ted Scouten.

Byrnes said the water can't be restored soon enough.

"I've got animals in my house that need water and everything. And with this heat and everything it's going to get to my animals real quick," he said.

Oakland Park Water Main Break
Workers repair broken water main along NE 69th Avenue just west of North Andrews Avenue. (Source: Twitter/TedScouten)

Crews worked throughout the day to isolate the area where the water is leaking so they could fix it. They had to build temporary dams so they could drain the water and access the pipe.

The area affected by the outage is bounded on the west by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, on the north by McNab Road and on the south by E. Prospect Road. If you are north of Commercial Blvd, the affected area is bordered on the east by N. Dixie Highway and if you are south of Commercial Blvd, the affected area is bordered on the east by NE 6th Ave.

About 4,000 homes and businesses are affected.

"I have kids, I need the water," said Yessica Calderilla who lives just steps away from the break.

She had to come up with a quick plan Friday morning.

"I got up and when I tried to use the water, there was no water, I used bottled water for my kids to use for everything," she said.

Area residents can contact the county at (954) 831-3250 for updates, press 4 for outage information. The county hopes to have repairs completed and the water service restored by early Friday evening.

When it is restored, the county says residents will be under a boil water order until testing confirms it is safe to drink and cook with.

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