Breckenridge Texan

UPDATE: The Boil Water Notice has been lifted as of Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

A busted water line on the west side of Breckenridge drained both of the city’s water towers this morning, Thursday, April 17, leaving residents and businesses without water for several hours, as well as under a boil water notice, heading into the Easter holiday weekend. Shortly before 5:30 p.m. this evening, City Manager Cynthia Northrop sent out a notice that the line had been repaired and that water service would be restored as soon as the system pressure was back up.

“We were installing a water tap, and there was a rock…we have very rocky soil, as you know. And so they were trying to move that, and it hit … the main,” Northrop said earlier today.

As soon as the line was repaired, Northrop posted an update on the City’s Facebook page, saying, “Water main has been repaired. Water should be restored as system is pressured up.”

A City of Breckenridge employee pumps water out of the area surrounding a broken water line while others attempt to repair the break. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The water line, located near the intersection of North Oakwood Avenue and West Lindsey Street, was hit sometime around 9:30 or 10:30 a.m., Northrop said. As city employees searched for valves to shut off the water, all of the water in both towers drained.

Although the City issued a Boil Water Notice, as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Northrop acknowledged this afternoon that there wasn’t any water to boil a that time. Now that the line has repaired, it could take a while for the towers to fill back up.

However, once the water pressure is restored, residents and businesses — all City of Breckenridge water customers — will need to follow the Boil Water Notice until further notified.

In addition to affecting residents and businesses, the lack of water also meant that there was no water for the fire department to use for firefighting. According to a statement posted on the City of Breckenridge’s Facebook page, “The Breckenridge Fire Department has contacted the Rural Volunteer Fire Department to stage water trucks in town for fire protection as a precautionary measure.”

Because of the Easter Holiday — Friday is Good Friday — the water won’t be tested until Monday, April 21, Northrop said. Then, it could take 24 hours or more to get the results back from the lab and lift the Boil Water Notice.

“We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience that is anticipated to last through the holiday weekend due to labs being closed,” the City’s Facebook post said.

A similar situation happened shortly before Easter in 2023, when a broken waterline at the intersection of North Payne Street and West Fourth Street likewise drained the towers.

Several City of Breckenridge employees worked together to repair a broken water line on West Lindsey Street on Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

City employees use a pipe clamp to repair a broken water main Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Water pooled up in a low spot in the road about a block east of the busted water line on West Lindsey Street. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

It was all hands — and equipment — on deck Thursday afternoon as the City of Breckenridge worked to repair a busted water line on West Lindsey Street. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: City of Breckenridge employees pump water from around a broken water line while others work to put a clamp in place to repair the pipe. The entire city will remain under a Boil Water Notice until further notice. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Related story:

City of Breckenridge issues city-wide boil water notice