Video: Broken hydrant sends ‘river’ down Prospect Street

A broken fire hydrant on Prospect Street uncorked a towering spray of water along with flooding in La Jolla’s Village that caused the street to be temporarily closed Sept. 14.

See a video courtesy of Ryan Ferguson below:

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San Diego city spokesman Arian Collins said a driver backed a vehicle into the hydrant late in the morning in the 1200 block of Prospect. The resulting break caused a geyser of water to spray into the air and “a river” to run down the street, witnesses said.

It wasn’t clear whether any businesses in the immediate area were damaged or had to close temporarily, though Collins said no damage was reported to city Public Utilities Department crews. Anyone who was impacted can file a claim with the city’s Risk Management Department, Collins said.

Ashley Goodwin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties said the water flowed away from the real estate brokerage’s office at 1299 Prospect, but there was “a lot of commotion” from people wanting to see what was happening.

“I saw the water spewing into the air and watched the firefighters close the area, and everyone had their phones out,” Goodwin said.

Chad Taggart, owner of Lobster West at 1237 Prospect, said the flooding had dried up by the time he got there later in the day, but he said staff told him there was “a river coming down the street.”

“It came just above the sidewalk but didn’t reach the sidewalk or anything,” Taggart said. “The street drains are very ineffective and are usually clogged up, so that might have added to the problem.” ◆