Crews work to fix a broken water main along Country Club at 15th Avenue in Lucerne. Photo by Lenny Matthews.

LUCERNE – Lucerne's aging water system sprang another leak over the Fourth of July holiday.

Residents noticed a huge main break at 15^th Avenue and Country Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Lenny Matthews said her home was without water for at least a half hour. She called Cal Water's toll-free number to report the emergency but was told no emergency crews were available to respond.

She then drove down to Cal Water's Lucerne office on Highway 20, which was closed. From there she went to the Northshore Fire Protection District main office in Lucerne, where Chief Jim Robbins had already made calls to Cal Water about the pipe break.

Robbins had better luck than Matthews, with crews from Cal Water and Epidendio Construction on scene late Wednesday afternoon to repair the break.

The crews had to dig a trench about 5 feet deep in the dirt alongside Country Club to get down to the broken pipe.

Matthews said her water was back on later in the afternoon.

Cal Water customers began receiving letters this week from the company, thanking them for conservation efforts so far this spring.

However, the letter informed customers that that continued conservation was needed to prevent water outages, especially over the Fourth of July and Labor Day holidays.

Among the company's suggestions to save water: stop outdoor irrigation and fix leaking pipes.

There's no word yet on the amount of water lost in the Lucerne water break.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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