Lindell School affected by water main break

A water main broke early in the morning of May 14 on Hudson Street, between Lindell and Washington boulevards. The call came in around 7:15 a.m., according to Department of Public Works Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba, and was repaired by about noon. The cause of the incident is under review.

“It could have been a stress fracture that let loose. It’s hard to tell because [the pipe is] so far underground,” LaCarrubba explained. “But it looks like a crack that had been building for a while.”

City crews were able to clamp the pipe, a process LaCarrubba described as wrapping a type of “sleeve” around it. In order to complete the repairs, water flow to the main had to be turned off. About 40 homes and Lindell Elementary School were affected.

Students from the school were bussed to Long Beach Middle School for the day that morning, where they remained until dismissal time.

Superintendent of Schools David Weiss said the district received a call reporting that water was gushing from the main at around 7:30 a.m., at which point the school still had access to water. But anticipating it would be shut off later in the day, the decision was made to bus the students out of the building.

“We have emergency plans for everything.” Weiss said. “With a lack of water or electricity, students would report to their building as usual and we would transport them.”

School officials said that students were bussed back to Lindell for regular dismissal at the end of the day without further incident.