Hundreds of gallons of water flood plaza in Pahrump

At least seven local businesses have been placed on a precautionary “boil water notice,” after a leak at the Wheeler Springs shopping plaza on Monday afternoon.

Crews from Great Basin Water Co. responded to 921 S. Highway 160 just before 12:30 p.m. to shut down what’s termed a “looped system,” at the location, adjacent to Phantom Fireworks.

Prior to their arrival, large volumes of water were gushing from the faulty two-inch service system located on the south side of the fireworks retailer.

Though it’s uncertain how much water was released, gravity drew the deluge off the Phantom Fireworks property, onto Frontage Road, and eventually onto the northbound lanes of Highway 160, slowing down travel for motorists.

All the while, an employee from the fireworks outlet was seen operating a forklift to relocate thousands of dollars of water-sensitive product away from the cresting floodwaters, prior to the arrival of Great Basin crews.

In a news release, Great Basin Water Co. Public Information Officer Tom Oakley said Monday’s boil order notice will remain in effect for at least two days.

“Seven businesses have been affected by the outage and given precautionary boil water notices,” the release stated Tuesday. “One restaurant, Bigg’s Place, at 921 S. Highway 160, Suite 402 and one dental office, EZ Dental, located at 921 S. Highway 160, Suite 403, were affected.

“The pipe has been fixed, but water sample testing is still in place. Hydrants in the area are back in service. The precautionary boil order notice is expected to be in effect for 48 hours. Once the results are in hand, a rescission notice will be issued.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes