A water main break in Fort Worth caused many residents to lose water pressure Monday morning.
City officials said they located the break near Interstate 30 and Eastchase Parkway at about 8 a.m.
Not rain run off, this is 36-inch concrete water main break. Could take hours to stop flow, full day+ to fix @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/kHruMuFXa0
— Chris Van Horne (@CVHReportsNBC5) April 18, 2016
Officials said residents between East Loop 820 and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport have had reduced pressure since about 2 a.m. Several NBC 5 viewers near Interstate 30 reported having little to no water pressure in their homes.
Affected residents were asked to reduce their water use as much as possible.
Employees at fast food restaurants on Eastchase/30, having to turn customers away with no water available @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/oz1evWGC0a
— Chris Van Horne (@CVHReportsNBC5) April 18, 2016
The weather and darkness made the break in East Fort Worth difficult to locate, authorities said.
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Fort Worth Water Department spokesperson Mary Gugliuzza said the break occurred in a 36-inch concrete water main. One of two major mains bringing water to customers in east Fort Worth.
Once the broken main was sealed off, water pressure returned to normal through the other operating main.
Restaurants immediately within the vicinity of the break were forced to close as they had little or no running water.
Employees at McDonald's, Taco Bell and Whataburger could be seen telling customers that they were closed do to the water issue.
"We’d be very busy at this time, we’d be almost like having a full house," said Ahmed Sukaik, manager at IHOP.
He said the restaurant closed to customers around 3:30 a.m. and his employees were waiting to see if the water would come back on.
"It’s disappointing," Sukaik said. "You see customers coming in, but then they are leaving."
But by 9 a.m. the water at the IHOP was restored and the closed sign was taken down.
The city says it could take a few hours to fully shut off the water main in question. Repairing it permanently is expected to be done by Wednesday.
Gugliuzza said because water pressure was maintained, albeit low, there is no need to boil water.
NBC 5's Chris Van Horne contributed to this report.
