A water main broke at 10 p.m. Thursday in Somerset Woods, at Southeast 46th Street and 146th Avenue Southeast. The 10-inch pipe released about 300,000 gallons of water onto 46th Street.

City crews shut off water to 20 homes while repairs were made to the pipe.  Water service was restored to the area this morning.

Crews performed initial cleanup and restoration of the area, including backfill, temporary patching of the street and street cleaning and sweeping. Nearby streams were also inspected, and there were no significant environmental impacts from the runoff of water.

The city is taking the following steps:

• Operating the water system at reduced pressure.
• Monitoring the water system this weekend to check for possible settling or leaks.
• Sending a section of the pipe to a lab for analysis to determine the cause of the break.
• Repairing and replacing street, curb and gutters that were damaged.
• Replacing about 600 feet of water main along Southeast 46th Street and 146th Avenue Southeast and inspecting other water mains in the area. Bellevue Utilities has a pipe analysis and replacement plan for the entire city, and although the pipes in this neighborhood are not old enough to be scheduled for replacement, they will be replaced if conditions warrant.
  

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