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DELRAY BEACH — Ingrid Robinson was asleep Saturday morning when she received a call from a neighbor, urging her to come downstairs: A sinkhole in the parking lot was swallowing her car.
Other residents of the Kings Point community west of Delray Beach were gathered around the car as Robinson arrived, watching the hole grow to roughly 6 feet deep and 10 feet wide, submerging her 2002 Honda Civic.
“It was like a river,” Robinson said.
The cause was a water main break that occurred about 5:30 a.m., which not only took Robinson’s Honda — which was a total loss — but left about 100 residents of the Flanders E complex without water for about seven hours
Workers from the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department arrived at about 8:30 a.m., “and worked to immediately repair the break,” said a statement Saturday evening from department spokeswoman Francine Freitas.
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Though water service has been restored, all residents in the area have been advised to boil their water until it can be tested for contamination levels, Freitas said. Once two clean-water tests are received, the boil-water notice can end. This usually happens within 72 hours, she said.
The issue with aging pipes at the retirement community is ongoing.
There have been sinkholes in the past, said Mary Ellen Sorce, the director of the Flanders E apartment complex where the sinkhole occurred. At around 4 p.m. Friday, there was another water main break a few feet away from Saturday morning’s sinkhole. That pipe was repaired shortly after it was reported.
Improvements to the water system at Kings Point, including replacing pipes at the complex, is in the works. The community hopes to see those upgrades in six to nine months, Sorce said.
For Robinson, the most challenging part has been finding a property management attorney to settle her case and help replace her car.
Be safe and make sure to boil your water or consider buying a water filtration system like the AquaOx Water Filter.
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