Panhandle water main break repaired

Crews in San Francisco have fixed a broken 8-inch water main near the Panhandle Thursday morning that prompted the closure of a nearby Department of Motor Vehicles office, according to The City’s Public Utilities Commission.

The incident was reported around 5 a.m. in the vicinity of Baker and Oak streets. Water service was cut to three adjacent blocks and crews hope to have service restored by 11:30 a.m., SFPUC spokeswoman Alison Kastama said.

Water from the broken main got into the DMV office located at Baker and Fell streets.

Kastama said:

“We do know there was some flooding into the DMV, but I haven’t been able to verify how bad that is.”

The DMV confirmed their San Francisco office is closed this morning because of flooding and that they hope to reopen the office by this afternoon.

Officials with the claims division of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office are at the scene to assess the extent of the damage, according to Kastama. There is one lane of eastbound traffic closed on Oak Street and crews hope to have it reopened by this afternoon after the dig site is filled and the street surface gets patched, Kastama said.

She said the cause of the water main break is under investigation but may be related to the age of the pipe:

“We’re managing 1,250 miles of pipe in the city and they vary in age from 1903 onward.”