Julie Fernandez

Water from the broken pipe flows onto West Mercer Way.

At around 9:00p.m. on Oct. 9, there was a break in one of the main water pipes on West Mercer Way, resulting in a mini-flood which caused a lot of damage to surrounding houses.

“There was a cascade of water running down from the gutter and the water was running really fast since the road was downhill,” Julie Fernandez, an MIHS student located right by the break, said. “It looked like a little river coming down from West Mercer [Way] to the driveways.”

The cause of the flood of water was a 12-foot-long crack in a 75-year-old cast iron pipe. The city took action quickly, isolating the break and working to repair it. The road was closed for the entire night and most of the following day, Oct. 10.

“The firemen and police were here until early in the morning trying to fix the pipe and avoid it from breaking again,” Fernandez said.

Many properties were affected by the break, both in terms of physical damage as well as lack of water supply. According to the City of Mercer Island, “36 homes in the immediate vicinity of Merrimount Drive and SE 48th Street had an interruption to water service. The replacement water main is being filled, flushed, and tested.”

“It didn’t affect my house at all,” Fernandez said, “but it did affect my neighbor’s house. Their whole downstairs area was flooded and there was at least one foot of water. You couldn’t see the floor and everything was soaking wet.”

Luckily, the city reopened the road the evening of Oct. 10 and the pipe is now functioning correctly. No houses or house functions were affected anywhere else on Mercer Island except for ones in the immediate vicinity.

For more information, visit the city’s website: https://www.mercerisland.gov/publicworks/page/water-main-break-localized-precautionary-boil-water-notice