Residents in the area of Brown St., Alhambra Ave. and Berrellesa St. were without water service for a portion of Sunday while city crews scrambled to repair a broken water line on Berrellesa.
The city received several complaints about the loss of water service with no warning or notification. But a city official said that the unplanned repair could not be delayed until Monday, and there was no time to notify the public.
Bob Cellini of the Public Works Dept. said he was notified at 8:30 a.m. of a water leak on Berrellesa.
"A service connection let go on the main that required immediate emergency action," he said. "The only time we notify residents is when we have a planned shut down. I am aware of several citizens today inquiring why they were not notified."
Service was restored at about 4:30 p.m., he said.
"It's a very difficult situation and one that I wish my guys didn't have to deal with when they're out there in harm's way tring to get the water service restored. We apologize for the inconvenience but public health safety is our number one priority when leaks occur."
