Water Main Break Affects About 200 Homes

THOUSAND OAKS — About 200 homes in Thousand Oaks, many in an exclusive gated community, were without water for nearly seven hours Thursday after a construction crew broke a large water main.

A contractor laying fiber-optic cable broke the 3 1/2-foot-deep main a little after 11 a.m. with a piece of trenching equipment at Monte Carlo Drive and Erbes Road, said Bob Funfar, a municipal public works supervisor.

“They cut the top out of 14-inch steel water line,” said Funfar, whose five-person crew braved Thursday’s cold weather to fix the break. “It is one of our bigger arteries.”

A city contractor that pinpoints utility lines for such work was about five feet off and that led to the gashed main, Funfar said.

Crews worked cautiously to ensure that water pressure remained high in the area in the event of a fire, Funfar said. Repair work on the line was completed about 6:30 p.m.