Nichole Whiteley, Special to the Daily Herald

A leak in the mainline water system of Saratoga Springs caused in flooding and a sinkhole along South Saratoga Drive late Tuesday night, leading to a shutoff of water to “a section of homes” in the city, according to spokesperson AnnElise Harrison.

Water service was restored to residents around noon Wednesday after sediment was cleared after the leak. The pipe, which was over 20 years old, leaked due to corrosion.

“We have to flush the hydrants so there isn’t any sediment in the system so we typically don’t let them know until after that is completed,” Harrison said. “This issue took a little bit longer probably because it was under a street.”

The sinkhole is located across the road from Utah Lake and Saratoga Springs Hot Springs. Water could be seen spouting out of the storm drain between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. with the storm drain main cover in the middle of the street. The tar used to repair cracks in the road was also bubbling with water.

According to Tamra Fuell, who lives near the incident, water was flooding to the north and south sides of the gutters and into the road.

“I have never seen water bubble up through the repaired cracks in the road before,” Fuell said.

Nichole Whiteley, Special to the Daily Herald

Police and city workers arrived at the scene to turn off the water, which is when the sinkhole occurred.

Not long after the water was turned off, a sinkhole occurred in the middle of the road. Tyler Hoover, with Saratoga Springs Public Works, and two others vacuumed out the sinkhole.

Hoover said they would fill it with gravel until it could be further repaired. He was unsure the cause of the break in the water system, but said he would know more once they dug out the hole further.

However, workers were seen at the site of the sinkhole early Wednesday and the sinkhole is now filled with large gravel, but is not completely repaired. The sinkhole takes up almost one quarter of the road.

According to Harrison, this is the first water main issue in “a year to a year-and-a-half,” which was due to construction in the area. Resident notification of utility issues is typically done through postings on the city website, city social media pages or by going door to door depending on the scope of the issue.

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