Thousands of residents left without water

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- An accidental water main break has left thousands of residents in Hallandale Beach without water.

Water east of the Intercoastal was shut off at around 9 a.m., Wednesday, for residents, but it was turned back on at about 3 p.m.

A contractor installing a fiber optic line ruptured an 8-inch water line on the 1900 block of Ocean Drive in Hallandale Beach. The ruptured water line affected all condo residents east of the Intercoastal.

Crews continue to work to secure the leak. They installed a valve to prevent this from happening in the future.

"There is absolutely no water," said Irene Barret. "There's not one point in the building that has water."

"As you can see, there's quite the mess behind us," said Hallandale Beach Mayor Joe Cooper. "A subcontractor earlier this morning was digging and hit an 8-inch water main. It's actually impacted around 8,000 housing units here in the community."

Workers have cleaned up the mess and dumped sand and dirt into what was once a big hole.

(Copyright 2012 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)