Water main break floods St. Armands street

Portions of St. Armands Circle are without water service this afternoon after a water main break associated with utilities construction. 

The city confirmed service is out for around 20 customers on the Circle. A boil water notice for the area is forthcoming, a city spokesperson said, and service is expected to resume in a few hours. 

The incident occurred near Madison Drive and North Boulevard of the Presidents, by the construction site of a future city parking garage on North Adams Drive. Although the utilities work is being done by a contractor involved with the garage project, the water main break was not related to the construction of the garage itself, the city said.

The break, which flooded most of Madison Drive northeast of the circle, took place around 12:30 p.m., according to a county spokesperson. 

By about 1:30, the water had been shut off, but work remained to repair the break and resume service. 

“This is crazy, but what are you going to do?” said Shirley Steele, who was watching workers tend to the problem from the sidewalk along Madison Drive near North Boulevard of the Presidents. “I'm sure it's going to get fixed fast.”

Police had Madison Drive blocked at Boulevard of the Presidents, though water was flowing along the road about 6 to 8 inches deep. 

As of 2 p.m., no streets in the Circle are closed, according to Sarasota Police Department Lieutenant Bruce King.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.