PUEBLO — Crews are trying to figure out what caused a water main burst in downtown Pueblo, forcing a family restaurant to shut down.
Even though water's been restored, the Colorado Public Department of Public Health and Environment has issued a boil water alert for folks in the area since water quality test results are pending.
The China Lantern Restaurant is next to where this happened, and they say being forced to close their doors during a holiday weekend is putting them in troubled waters. "It was just like water everywhere," said waitress Jolene Huntington.
"At one time the water was about two feet deep in this area," said Captain Andrew Golob with the Pueblo Fire Department. Thousands of gallons of water gushed out of a burst pipe at around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
"There was water still coming into the restaurant," Huntington described. And as utility crews work around the clock to repair the damage underground, for this restaurant's bottom line, the damage is already done. "It's really gonna hurt all of us, you know, financially," Huntington emphasized. "Because we all depend on the money. We can't have one come in, we can't serve food, we can't wash the dishes, we can't clean."
She also added, the restaurant has regulars that come in constantly, like Audrey Smith, who brought a special delivery for the restaurant's staff. We just came in to check on them and bring them some food since they couldn't cook," Smith said.
Now all they can do is wait.
"We're just sitting in the window, watching them dig up the street and watching the water go and looks like it was getting worse but now it's getting better," Smith pointed out. And while restaurant staff try to keep their head above water, crews are doing their part to fix this - asking for only one thing: "Just patience, yes, please, just patience," Golob said.
4th Street will be closed between Court Street and Grand Avenue through the weekend and into the beginning of the work week. CDPHE says water quality results will be released on Sunday. The cause of the main break is still unknown.
