A surge in water demand Thursday night forced two Brevard County water systems into emergency mode to keep up.
Investigators said two men tampered with 20 hydrants in the Mims and Titusville areas, and allowed so much water to flow onto the streets, it hurt the local water supplies.
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The water pressure has since been restored and officials said the water quality wasn’t compromised.
Additional resources had to be activated to meet the increased flow demands and get all the hydrants turned off.
Three of the 20 hydrants were in the Indian River preserve area, while 17 others were located throughout Titusville, where 1 million to 1 1/2 million gallons of water flowed out of the hydrants before they could be shut off.
The city said the increased flow demands caused the water pressure to drop in the water system.
The 19-year-old men authorities believe to be responsible for opening the hydrants, Brian Shipley and Bradley Taylor, are being held in jail in lieu of $40,000 bail each.
Brevard County officials said between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. it lost 200,000 gallons of water and two storage tanks had to be refilled.
Cox Media Group
