Many businesses without water after pipe breaks at South Coast Plaza and floods parking lot, part of Bristol Street

Water remains shut off to 24 businesses in the South Coast Plaza area and likely will be off the rest of the day after a water main break shut down part of Bristol Street in Costa Mesa overnight, flooding a parking lot and part of the roadway, authorities said.

Police and fire officials responded around 2 a.m. to where an underground pipeline had broken, sending water, mud and debris into three lanes of Bristol and a parking lot near the shopping center’s Anton Boulevard entrance, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Matt Selinske said.

Officials from the Mesa Water District believe a valve connecting two 12-inch pipes broke, spokeswoman Noelle Collins said. It’s unclear what caused the failure, she said.

District crews shut off the water by 3:05 a.m. Water is still shut off to two dozen nearby businesses, including restaurants, Collins said, and crews are assessing what repairs are needed. Officials are calculating how much water spilled out of the pipe.

Selinske said he was unaware of any major water damage to cars or other property, but he said a portion of the sidewalk and a light pole sunk about five feet into the ground near where the water was gushing.

Lanes on Bristol Street were reopened by about 7 a.m., Selinske said.

The valve that broke was installed in 1966 and is not uncommonly old for a pipeline, according to the water district.