Water main break closes Fruitvale onramp

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Crews are still working to repair a 16-inch water main that burst in Oakland's Dimond neighborhood this morning, according to an East Bay Municipal Utility District spokeswoman.

The pipe, originally described as 6 inches in diameter by EBMUD, broke open sometime before 9 a.m. and spilled large volumes of water down Montana Street and onto Adell Court, EBMUD spokeswoman Andrea Pook said.

 The east bay municipal utility district says ten homes are damaged, including two apartment buildings. They have been without water since 9:15 a.m.

The gushing water broke open a sinkhole on Montana Street that Pook estimated to be about 10 feet long. Other property damage has been reported as well, but the extent is still unclear.  East Bay MUD says the broken pipe is over 80 years old. This afternoon East Bay MUD found the broken piece of pipe. It appears to have splintered off from the bottom where water is running through it.

The reason for the rupture is still to be determined. "It could have been corrosion. It could have been land movement. We don't know when the pipe started leaking. It had to have been a while because it caused a sinkhole," said Nelsy Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for East Bay MUD. 

Neighbors are furious. "This is the third time this has happened," said one neighbor. East Bay MUD acknowledges its the third rupture in the past five years. Ironically, East Bay MUD says it had planned on replacing the water main next summer. But the rupture occurred before that could happen.

Traffic is being rerouted in the area and the nearby Dimond Avenue on-ramp to Interstate Highway 580 was closed, Pook said.