Massive water main break causes mess near Galleria

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Repairs are happening at a water main break which was causing a big problem in the Galleria area.

The westbound lanes of Westheimer are open and one eastbound lane in front of Saks department store remains closed today while crews work.

SkyEye HD was over the scene last night on Westheimer near Post Oak, where we saw a massive hole filling up with water. Crews were busy pumping that water out.

Some restaurants in the area closed because of the break. Traffic was a mess on Westheimer. A city spokesman told us a 12-inch cast iron water main line break was to blame. Crews started working on the problem days ago, but discovered smaller breaks that also needed repairing.

The work is all happening right in front of Houshang Taghi's high-end clothing store.

"We have done no business for the last 3 days at all," said Taghi who said he called the city to alert them of a blossoming problem four months ago. He said they told him not to worry about it. "They say they're working on it, they're working on it. They've been working on this ... for about 15 times."

With Westheimer opening in front of his store, he's hoping to be there today for his customers.

"Hopefully, we've got water, which, I don't know, if they fix it, it could bust in another place. But yeah, if we've got water, then we'll have to clean everything. It got dusty and messy - the whole store."