Broken water main leads to dry day in Oldsmar

It certainly wasn't the way Dan Clark wanted to kick-off his weekend.

When he got up Saturday morning the Oldsmar quickly realized he had no running water.

"Couldn't flush, can't take a shower," said Clark. "Can't do anything [that involves water] like that."

To compound the problem Clark had his young son Colt to take care of.

"Ain't no good; I ain't too worried about it," Clark added. "It's just having him in the house, got to look out for the baby."

The problems started early Saturday when a water main in the City of Oldsmar broke. A majority of residents living nearby are experiencing very low water pressure or none at all.

Crews with the City's Public Works Department began searching for the source of the problem in order to devise a solution.

"Our distribution system has so many byways and service lines so trying to locate it is our priority," explained Oldsmar City Clerk Ann Stephan. "You're looking for wet ground or a lot of water; a lot of standing water well with the recent rains that makes it more difficult to find it."

Fortunately the city's reclaimed water system was unaffected so firefighters still have what they need in case of emergency.

Employees and patrons at Salon Couture had a difficult time doing anything.

"Much tougher for us; we do everything with water," said the business' owner Ledi Musheza.

Despite losing a few customers Musheza seemed to be taking the inconvenience in stride.

"We [have had days] without water a lot and we're used to it," she said. "But here [today] it is a big panic."

Crews with at least two of Oldsmar's City works department are working to identify and correct the problem – a solution that can't come soon enough.

City leaders say that once the leak is fixed, residents will be required to boil their water for at least a few days.