Los Angeles Department of Water and Power "Y" shaped juncture where a water rupture occurred, involving two main trunk lines is seen on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles Thursday, July 31, 2014. Work crews have stopped the last of the water gushing from a 30-inch pipe some 30 hours after it burst. Damage costs have yet to be pegged from the rupture of the pipeline that spewed more than 20 million gallons of water in the midst of California's worst drought in decades. The break in the 93-year-old pipe left a swath of the UCLA campus including its basketball arena swamped with water. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Tennessee American Water workers are trying to repair a broken water main in a wooded area off Sanders Road, which runs along the side of Lookout Mountain and connects Scenic Highway and Ochs Highway.
Daphne Kirksey, spokeswoman for Tennessee American Water Company, on Friday said that a hiker spotted and reported the break Wednesday evening.
Tennessee American Water then sent workers on foot to find the break Thursday morning. Tennessee American Water aimed to avoid a potential safety risk by not sending crews out into the dark Wednesday night.
When water crews found the site of the break, they started digging down to the line by hand, unable to get equipment to the break.
Crews found a broken, 10- to 12-inch steel water line. Steel lines are often used to carry water up mountains, said Kirksey.
Crews shut off water to the main line and began the work of welding it shut around 2 p.m. Friday.
Kirksey was hopeful that by Friday evening, affected Lookout Mountain residents and business would have water restored. She said it normally takes three to four hours to fix a main break. She said main breaks are fairly common.