Kennewick water line break spills 169,000 gallons

Instead of finding bad guys, the Kennewick police found a large water leak Wednesday.

Officers reported water running over the roadway in the 800 block of South Fir Street just after midnight and a city public works supervisor showed up about 25 minutes later, said city spokeswoman Evelyn Lusignan.

A water main line broke and spilled roughly 169,000 gallons before it was repaired.

City crews dug up the broken pipe and had it fixed within two hours. By 4:45 a.m. water service was restored.

“A lot of that happened while people were sleeping and probably didn’t notice unless they got up and had to flush the toilet,” she said.

This story was originally published May 17, 2017 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Kennewick water line break spills 169,000 gallons."