Workers gather to repair the water main break. Multiple trucks and other vehicles had arrived during the morning on Alameda de las Pulgas, placing cones to block traffic and prevent interference with the repair.
On Nov. 21, a nearby water main break caused Carlmont High School to cancel classes for the day.
Students, teachers, and parents were all initially notified in the morning, right before the first bell rang.
“The water pipe burst. I don’t know when, but it was just faulty timing and burst over time,” said Carlmont Administrative Vice Principal Grant Steunenberg.
The break caused water to spill onto the road, where both drivers and pedestrians could see a small stream.
“I got off the bus with my friends, and we were walking to school from the library, and we saw a lot of really dirty, disgusting water in the gutters. Then we got to school, and we saw a lot of cones and signs that road work was being done, and we saw a truck expelling a bunch of that dirty water,” said Carlmont freshman Sahana Patel.
At 8:02 a.m., the loudspeakers blared throughout the campus, instructing students to leave and announcing that school was canceled.
“Back in 2013, we had a water main break midday, and that was a lot harder because we had to contact all of the parents. It’s not common, but it’s happened before. Sometimes the pipes that were laid down back in the 1940s and 50s have a structural integrity issue, and the water breaks through,” said Carlmont Administrative Vice Principal Grant Steunenberg.
At 8:03 a.m., a text message sent to the Carlmont community stated that “due to a water main break near campus, Carlmont High School is closed today, Friday, Nov. 21,” and that there would be “more information coming soon.”
“We got inside the senior parking lot, and we saw like Officer Tagilala, and he was making people move places,” Patel said. “Then we were told by one of my friend that there was no school today because school was canceled.”
Many reported getting automated calls coming from Carlmont, informing students that they “have had to cancel classes” and that they were “sorry for the inconvenience.”
Some students, like those who had taken the bus, had no way of getting back home immediately.
“The school announcement had told us that the buses would be coming back around, but one of the kids I was standing with at the bus stop actually called SamTrans and asked if they were sending any buses back, and SamTrans said that they would be,” said Carlmont sophomore Kathryn Ercoli.
According to an article from SFGate, the water main break occurred on Nov. 20 and was “expected to slow Friday morning commute” along Alameda de las Pulgas, the road that Carlmont High School is located on.
The leak was identified the previous day. However, no message was sent to the Carlmont community until Friday morning. Many students arrived at school, only to be told to go back home.
“I was really happy that school was cancelled, and we were rejoicing and telling everybody,” Patel said. “Now I don’t have to take my math test today.”
With the school shut down, the workers and administrators plan to continue searching for a solution to the breakage, with the goal of fixing it before the end of the day.
“They haven’t found the problem yet, but they anticipate finding it by 1 or 2 p.m. in the afternoon,” Patner said.
While the water main was serious, there was no danger to students or staff throughout the ordeal, and everyone has remained safe.
According to the automated voice message from the school, Carlmont is expected to reopen Monday, Nov. 24.
*This is a breaking news story. The article will be updated with more information. Additional reporting done by Ziya Myneni, Athena Ginnebaugh, and Maximus Kwan.