SAN ANTONIO – A geyser of water created a small flood Monday morning along Tuleta Drive, just in front of the San Antonio Zoo.
Behind the flood was a broken valve on a San Antonio Water System pipeline that runs along Highway 281.
"It was a 36-inch recycled water pipeline," said SAWS spokesperson Anne Hayden.
According to SAWS, it's not known how many gallons of water were lost.
Much of the water flowed down to Tuleta Drive and eventually into the San Antonio River. The San Antonio River Authority confirmed that the added water represented no danger to the public or the environment.
The pipe circumnavigates the city, according to SAWS, delivering recycled water to places like businesses and golf courses.
No SAWS customers lost service.
The issue was temporarily repaired by SAWS, with a release valve blamed for the malfunction.
"Because it was a valve that was affected, and not the 36-inch pipeline, it can be repaired fairly easily and quickly," said Hayden.
Meanwhile, visitors to the zoo around 10 a.m. were forced to cross a fast-moving stream of water to get into the gates.
"It's a perfect day. I didn't expect to be going barefoot in water," said Phillip Shelley, a zoo patron.
City crews spent much of the early part of the afternoon cleaning up rocks and concrete that flowed down Tuleta Drive and collected in front of the San Antonio Zoo.
Some roads were also closed while crews cleaned out the thoroughfares.