Water Line Break Closes Utah Capitol

The Utah Capitol building in Salt Lake City was closed Monday after a water line ruptured overnight, officials say.

Capitol Preservation Board Executive Director David Hart said while workers were still trying to learn exactly which water line broke, there was no running water in the building and all workers were told to stay home for the day, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

“We shut all the water off to the Capitol and to all the people on Capitol Hill,” Hart said. “We’re trying to figure out where the leak is coming from and get the capitol up just as quickly as we can.”

The Capitol’s west parking lot was flooded by the ruptured line, which exerted enough force to raise a large concrete slab up 4 inches.

Workers need to remove the slab in order to investigate the break and repair all damage, Hart told the Tribune.

The preservation board official told the newspaper the Capitol incident, combined with another water line break in a nearby neighborhood Sunday night, could indicate an underlying problem with the area’s water-pump system.