Huge water main break in Stone Oak area

SAN ANTONIO -- SAWS urgently is asking residents of the Stone Oak area to immediately discontinue outdoor water use after a large water main break Tuesday morning at Bitters Road near U.S. 281.

San Antonio Water System reported in a Twitter post a little after 11 a.m. Tuesday that a 48-inch main break had occurred because of a mechanical malfunction at the Bitters Road Well Field, which supplies water to the Stone Oak area.

A video posted on Twitter showed massive amounts of water shooting into the air and gushing from behind the Bitters Road facility. Cars could be seen driving down the road in the background.

A news release issued Tuesday afternoon said that the primary water pipeline from the former BexarMet infrastructure that serves the Stone Oak area is out, but that crews were making emergency repairs.

Residents specifically are asked to immediately discontinue outdoor water use, including irrigation systems, which should be turned off until further notice, in residential, business and public area systems and medians.

Specific areas affected include The Vineyard, Sonterra, and Greystone, but all of Stone Oak is being asked to immediately discontinue outdoor watering until further notice.

SAWS said water service currently is being maintained through newly constructed infrastructure that has been installed since SAWS merged with BexarMet.

The agency said four interconnects around the Stone Oak area now are open and providing water service during repairs.

SAWS said it would continue to closely monitor repairs and would provide updates via its Facebook page, on Twitter (@MySAWS), and the news media.

A detailed map of the affected area is available at saws.org/StoneOak.

ezavala@mysa.com

Twitter: @elizabeth2863