A pipe that provides San Francisco General Hospital with water broke this morning, leaving the hospital without water until early this afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The basement of San Francisco General Hospital’s main building, located on Potrero Avenue between 22nd and 23rd streets in the city’s Mission District, began flooding shortly after the pipe broke at 10:50 a.m., San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said.
Kagan said that while the rupture did not impact medical care and trauma patients were still admitted, patients awaiting elective surgeries were given an option to postpone their appointments.
Kagan said the flooding in the basement did not damage the hospital’s computer servers or information technology stations located down there. She said sandbags stopped the water from reaching that area of the basement.
Repairs to the pipe were completed at about 12:05 p.m., according to Kagan.
She said there were no reports of injuries, disruptions to the hospital’s network or power outages.
All admitted patients were delivered bottled water for drinking, she said.
Kagan said that a water pipe break is a rarity at the hospital, but that the hospital’s staff was prepared and followed protocol.
The cause of the break remains under investigation, she said.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
