VENICE, Calif. (KABC) -- A water geyser sprayed from a Venice fire hydrant Sunday night for more than eight hours, wasting thousands of gallons of water and causing a big mess.
A car struck what is known as a flush-out valve, used to flush out the system during repairs, shortly before 7 p.m. at Washington Boulevard in Venice, only a few blocks away from a water main break that flooded several homes near the Venice canals last week.
One neighbor said water gushed at least 60 feet into the air.
Los Angeles firefighters responded, but weren't able to stop the flow and called the Department of Water and Power, which said it was a county hydrant. Since this happened right on the border of the city and county of Los Angeles, there was some confusion about who owned it, which delayed the response. It turned out the valve belongs to the county, and a repair crew arrived by 10:30 p.m., officials said.
The crew was ready to switch off the valve, but they couldn't access it. The road was resurfaced, and the valve was underneath the asphalt. The water was not shut off until about 4 a.m.
"They had to go to the 24-inch main to turn off the flow. The seal at that valve, however, wouldn't close all the way. They had to move again to a 30 inch valve and they were able to close it there," an official with the L.A. County of Public Works said.
Officials say the flush-out line isn't as pressurized as a fire hydrant. Still, they estimate a loss of about 120,000 gallons of water.
The street was flooded, but remained open during cleanup.
One business had the water go into the building and soak the carpet.
"It's just unacceptable. Absolutely 100 percent unacceptable," said Scott Jarema with Maritime Communications. "They get on people's cases over-watering their lawns and then this happens."