Longwood residents question water line break after fiber optic work

Hidden Oaks residents were left without water, then lost power too, after fiber optic work in the Longwood subdivision appeared to coincide with a broken water main and a long night of emergency repairs.

The break happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the neighborhood, where telecommunications contractors were preparing to run conduit in the public right-of-way. Resident Jesse Latzman said crews had been walking through Hidden Oaks and placing survey markings before the break, and he said a door-hanger notice later said work would be starting soon. He and other neighbors immediately questioned whether the construction caused the failure and who would pay for the damage.

Latzman said the water kept flowing much longer than it should have because city crews could not shut off the valves right away. The water ran downhill into a neighborhood pond, and a good portion of pavement disappeared as crews dug down to reach the main. WOW! said city officials shut the water off shortly before 10 p.m., and crews worked through the night to access and repair the line.

The disruption did not stop there. Latzman said crews also hit Spectrum lines during the dig, and the neighborhood lost power around 10:15 p.m. for about three hours. The city of Longwood posted about the water main break and emergency repairs, and all of Hidden Oaks was placed under a precautionary boil water notice. Seminole County says boil notices are usually issued after a pipe break that causes loss of pressure, and its guidance says water should be brought to a rolling boil for one minute before drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes.

The episode landed in the middle of a broader push for utility work in Longwood. The city’s infrastructure-projects page, last updated April 14, said WOW was preparing to install new conduit and fiber in listed locations, and named Eric Nagowski, P.E., as public works engineer. Longwood’s public works department handles roadway and right-of-way issues, stormwater operations, water distribution and sanitary sewer, while a separate ordinance document shows the city was already amending its code to require cash escrow for new communications installations in public rights-of-way. For Hidden Oaks, the question now is whether the safeguards around one upgrade were strong enough to protect the rest of the neighborhood.