WEST KELOWNA – A section of a main arterial road in West Kelowna resembled a river Sunday morning.
Old Okanagan Highway was flooded with rushing water after an underground line ruptured, spewing a jet of water.
The Mounties alerted John Panko at about 6:00 a.m. to the geyser in the driveway of his home.
“It was just gushing up, like you hit a fire hydrant,” says Panko.
And as luck would have it, Panko’s son’s car was parked on top of the shooting stream of water.
“I came out and the car was sunk down in the hole. We’ve got to take it to the shop. The brakes are all filled with gravel.”
Panko says the water gushed for about 45 minutes until City of West Kelowna workers turned off the supply and dug down to find the problem.
The water line to Panko’s home had broken off from a six inch main line.
“Age. Just old age,” says City spokesperson Al Patterson who estimates 18 homes were without water while repairs were made.
And parts of Old Okanagan Highway will also have to be repaired as the rushing water undermined some of the pavement.
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