Broken Mains

Earlier today, we mentioned there were six major breaches in the Water Mains in Southeast, crippling most of the water network. Now, WTOP is reporting their cause is an unknown surge in water pressure from outside the system, which caused major disruption in service as the mains couldn’t handle the pressure and burst. The Post, however, says they’re related to the cleaning of a nearby reservoir last night.

The bursts are all currently being repaired by every crew that WASA can get their hands on. My email to WASA has not yet been returned, requesting a timeline for repairs. I suspect it may not be until tomorrow that the water pressure throughout the area south and east of the Anacostia is restored.

This does bring up an important problem, though, in that DC Fire & EMS depend on the availability of good water pressure to power their firefighting efforts. A good portion of the city, to the south of the Anacostia, is unprotected in case of a fire, as there’s nowhere to get water pressure to attach the fire hoses to. No statement from the Fire Department is available at this time.

bubbling up — Originally uploaded by JamesCalder

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

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