Breckenridge Texan

By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop said in a phone call with the Breckenridge Texan this afternoon, May 13, that city crews have isolated the leak and stopped the flow of water from the broken water line at the intersection of South Jackson Street and East Hullum.

Some people and businesses in the southeastern part of Breckenridge may be completely without water or may have low water pressure while city crews are working to fix the water line that was damaged by a fiber-optics company that was drilling an installation ditch for their cable.

Before city employees could locate a valve to turn off water to the broken line, the water tower on the east side of town was drained. Now that the water to the affected water line has been turned off, the tower is starting to refill, Northrop said.

Both Villa Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center, directly across the street from the broken water line, and Stephens Memorial Hospital, about three blocks from the break, were affected by the water outage.

Additionally, Northrop and Breckenridge Independent School District Superintendent Prairie Freeman confirmed that, out of a sense of caution, local schools were released early today. Northrop said that, as far as she knows, East Elementary did not lose water service, but because of the City’s uncertainty about the extent of the water loss, the school district decided on the early release. Freeman said the school district will make a decision about tomorrow’s school day later, depending on the progress of the water line repairs.

Northrop said the City plans to have the break repaired and water service restored this evening.

At about 4:30 p.m., the City of Breckenridge issued a Boil Water Notice for the southeastern portion of the City. The affected area is east of South Breckenridge Avenue (U.S. 183 South) and south of East Walker Street (U.S. 180 East). See the map below for an outline of the area.

Click here to read the Boil Water Notice.

Northrop said that the City had marked the water lines in the area but that the contractor hit the pipeline anyway. “Our people were on site, our crews were on site, and the water lines were marked correctly,” she said.

One problem that the City continues to face when dealing with a broken water line is finding a cut-off valve. There are no valves on the waterline on Jackson Street, going north and south, Northrop said.

“There’s 80 miles of water line (in Breckenridge). … And, again, this didn’t get this way in the last four years; it’s been this way,” she said. “But I’ve been very forthcoming that we don’t know where our stuff is. So … we are systematically working on finding where it is. You know, we’ve hired somebody, and they are mapping our system. That’s going to take a minute, but … apparently there are no valves on the water lines there on Jackson. Apparently there are three water lines in this area, one of which is not mapped at all. So that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s related article from earlier today.

The City of Breckenridge has issued a Boil Water Notice, effective May 13, 2026, for the southeastern quadrant of the city. The notice covers the area east of Breckenridge Avenue and south of Walker Street. (Map courtesy of City of Breckenridge)

Cutline, top photo: A City of Breckenridge employee checks out the water line break at the intersection of South Jackson Street and East Hullum. According to city officials, the line was hit by crews installing fiber-optic cables. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)