Contractor says water main not on blueprints; city notes nearby water meter

Contractors who broke a water main that flooded the South Lake Union neighborhood said the blueprints the city provided did not show a pipe running under the street.

But a Seattle Public Utility official said there are other ways they could have known there was water running under the street, such as noting the presence of a fire hydrant and a water meter box.

Merlino Construction, which the city's Department of Transportation hired to repair Dexter Avenue North, broke a 20-inch water pipe on Wednesday morning, flooding several businesses near Dexter Avenue North and Harrison Street.

The city and Merlino both said this morning that they are still investigating who is responsible.

"Our first concern is the customer and discolored water as well as customers with property damage," said Joe Mickelson, operations manager for the utility. "Now we're in discussions of who, what, why, when, where."

Merlino Construction officials said the water line was 22.5 inches under the street. The current standard depth is 36 inches.

"We don't know when it was installed," said Don Robertson, safety and risk manager for Merlino. "That's not normal for today."

Mickelson said the pipe was probably laid in the 1930s. This morning, contractors used a smaller excavator than yesterday to break up pavement.

Robertson said that in the contractor's previous work for the city, "Generally if there's a water main, then it's very detailed on any blueprints."

There is a water meter box in the sidewalk a few feet from where the pipe broke, as well as a fire hydrant on the opposite corner.

Robertson said they relied on the plans to tell them whether there were water mains in the street.

Utility manager Mickelson emphasized that "nobody is pointing fingers. I want to make sure we all work together as a team. We're just trying to improve the neighborhood."

The utility said if customers get discolored water in their taps, they should run the water for a few seconds to see if it clears up.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com