Crews Continue With Repairs On Pipe That Burst, Causing Major Flooding In Denver's Berkeley Neighborhood

DENVER (CBS4)- Crews continued to work on repairing a water main break that caused major flooding over the weekend. The 100-year-old pipe burst at 45th Avenue and Perry Street early Sunday morning.

Denver Water tweeted Monday morning that they hoped to have water restored to the neighborhood by the evening. At around 9 p.m., Denver Water alerted residents on Twitter water was restored, and advised they should run their tap for about 10 minutes.

The road will stay closed through Thursday, perhaps longer, they said.

According to a spokesperson, the company is still looking into what caused the break.

Standing water was so deep in some areas that vehicles were nearly submerged on Sunday. The break caused flooding that impacted eight blocks and forced some families out of their homes. Dozens of homes remained without water on Monday.

"It was all the way up here, it went in through the house, back through the back yard, into the car," said Rose Gonzales. "It just completely flooded the entire area."

Gonzales was among several neighbors beginning to clean up and assess the damage Monday morning, a day after the break happened. The longtime resident of the neighborhood said she had already spoken to a representative for Denver Water about getting help covering the costs.

A spokesperson for Denver Water tells CBS4 the company typically works with homeowners on a case-by-case basis through its No-Fault Main Break Assistance Program.

"We want to work with those customers who have been impacted by the water, maybe the mud," said spokesman, Jose Salas. "We'll be working with them one on one just to get them back to normal as quickly as we can."

Copter4 flew over the neighborhood on Monday morning, which showed several cars parked on streets covered in mud. There were also Denver Water crews working on repairs and a big hole in the street.

Denver Water said the break happened on a large 24-inch pipe. It took crews a while to shut off the water, which finally happened around 11 a.m. Sunday.

Water was also shut off at Regis University campus.

Restoration experts will be assessing the damage to homes. Crews will also temporarily patch the road until a contractor can finish the job.

"We expect to be out here for a few days, just to get everything back to the way it used to be," Salas said.

Those homes impacted by the break will be without water until the pipe is repaired. When water is turned on, experts will do quality checks to ensure water is safe to consume.