Imagine coming home from a long day at work, only to discover that a giant hole has opened up in the street in front of your house. But instead of just seeing a gaping spot in the pavement, a torrent of water that looks to be several stories high is firing out of the hole and directly at your house.
That’s what happened to a few people in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the end of July, when a water main break caused a messy scene on their street. The Poudre Fire Authority posted a video of the scene to their Instagram account after they arrived to help.
For those who don’t know, Colorado is currently in a drought, which likely caused this water main break. It also makes the video especially hard to watch.
Here’s what we know.
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The Fire Department Was First on Scene at the Water Main Break
Footage shared by the fire department was posted online on July 23, showcasing just how big the water spout was. “At 4:30pm today PFA responded to a water main break on Whalers Way in Fort Collins,” a caption of the video said. “City water department was called out to repair the break.”
The video was picked up by local news outlets like The Denver Gazette, which shared the video on Facebook. “That person is gonna have a greenest grass on the block,” one person joked about the onslaught of water.
“I don’t think you’re allowed to water your lawn on Saturdays, that’s going to cost them,” another person noted about the water restrictions that are in place across the state.
Some Speculated That the Water Was Actually Sewage
More than one commenter lamented that there weren’t any kids outside playing in the spray, which could’ve been a fun way to cool off during the heatwave. “That’s a sewage line,” a person responded.
According to a local, the house in the video ended up heavily damaged due to the flooding from the water main break, and they wrote that the “house was destroyed” before adding that others on the street lost access to their water.
What Should You Do if There’s a Water Main Break
While it’s unclear whether the fire department was called to the scene or just happened upon it, it’s important to know what to do if something like this happens where you live. In most cases, your first call should be to your local water authority or utility company to alert them to the break. These are typically the people tasked with fixing these kinds of issues, so the sooner they know, the better.
According to the American Water Newsroom, a multi-state water utility company, these kinds of breaks can sometimes cause issues with your community’s water quality after the break, which may require a boil water advisory. These types of warnings are typically announced by your local water authority or municipality, and they will remain in effect until a laboratory test is able to determine that the water is safe again.