Officials fix water main in time for concert

A broken water main didn’t stop the music in Fairview Park on Tuesday night.

City crews repaired the plastic water main, which caused minor flooding in the park early Sunday, in time for the first show of the annual Concert in the Park series, Public Services Director Ernesto Munoz said Tuesday afternoon.

“We still have to replace some of the grass, so it’ll be a little soggy out there,” he said.

The age of the water main, which travels from Placentia Avenue to service the restrooms in the 208-acre park’s southwest quadrant, might account for the failure, Munoz said Monday, although he was unable to pinpoint when it was installed.

Nothing critical to the park was damaged, he said.

HAM radio enthusiasts who were camping in the park’s southeastern quadrant, near the Orange County Model Engineers’ railroad, first noticed the flooding about 3 a.m. Sunday, said railroad member Dixon Sheldon. Crews responded and turned off the water main.

“It was a lot of water,” he said Monday, explaining that the flooded area looked to be around 200 feet by 30 feet. “If our guys had not been there, it could have been a lot more water.”

The group initially thought the flooding was related to further vandalism against the model railroad. The Goathill Junction was targeted by thieves and vandals twice in March.

“We thought, ‘Oh gee, here we go again,’” Sheldon said. “It turns out it was not, which is great.”

—Bradley Zint and Hannah Fry

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