Large water main break in East Bay floods street near children's center

ALAMO, Calif. - A very large water main is broken in Alamo, flooding the street near a preschool and elementary school.

East Bay Municipal Utility District crews were hard at work at Hemme Avenue and Danville Boulevard in front of the Creative Learning Center, and succeeded in stopping the flow of water around 10 a.m.

EBMUD Spokeswoman Kathryn Horn said the crews spent much of the morning attempting to shut off the gate valve, which they believed would stop the flow of water. But once it was shut just before 9 a.m., the water didn't stop flowing into the street. Crews targeted a second valve, expanded their shutoff area, and temporarily turned off water to additional customers.

EBMUD first got a call about the water main break at a 12:45 a.m.

The water main that broke is an 8-inch asbestos and cement water main that was installed back in the 1950's, according to Horn. 

Parents were notified that Rancho Romero Elementary will not be open on Friday. 

That left parent Dan Lodder to wonder what to do with his kids."We got to figure out what to do with the kids today, we both work from home," he said. 

Mike Mascaro, who co-owns the Creative Learning Center preschool with his wife, said the parking lot was full of debris and water, but the preschool dodged any water damage. 

"Everything's fine inside, we're dry in there," Mascaro said.

He's hoping to have the preschool back open Monday, or the middle of next week, depending on how street long cleanup takes.