Feb. 20--Commuters driving around Newport Beach's Port Streets could soon see some delays.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California began emergency repair work Friday to fix a 36-inch leak in a major water pipeline that runs through the Harbor View Homes neighborhood.
Repair crews will be working in the roadway on eastbound Eastgate Drive between Newport Hills Drive East and San Miguel Drive through Feb. 26.
Excavation work needed to repair a portion of the 22-mile-long pipeline -- called the Orange County Feeder -- will require crews to close both eastbound lanes on Eastgate Drive.
The roadway will be plated, and eastbound lanes will reopen Feb. 27 and Feb. 28. During the week of Feb. 29, the eastbound lanes will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow crews to pave the area.
The Orange County Feeder is a major component of the district's system as it conveys treated water from the F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne to many communities in Orange County and Los Angeles.
Metropolitan is a regional wholesaler that delivers water to 26 public agencies -- 14 cities, 11 municipal water districts, one county water authority -- which in turn provide water to more than 19 million customers.
