WSSC Lifts Water Restrictions Necessitated by Water Main Break in Chevy Chase

Water restrictions necessitated by a massive water main break in Chevy Chase on Monday, March 18, were lifted at about 6 p.m. Saturday.

Mandatory water restrictions necessitated by a massive water main break in Chevy Chase Monday were lifted at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Montgomery County email alert. The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission lifted the water restrictions—which asked residents of Montgomery and Prince George's counties to reduce water consumption by 10 percent—following the completion of repair work to the broken 60-inch-in-diameter main. The restrictions were in place for four and a half days. The ruptured main is back in service, "but restoration of the area, including roadway, sidewalk, removal of damaged trees and work on the stream bed near the break, will take weeks," the alert reported. The additional work will require the right-…

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Repairs to Massive Water Main Break Nearly Done

WSSC hopes to have the repaired line back in service by the end of the weekend.

Repairs to the 60-inch-in-diameter water main that burst Monday night on Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase are nearly complete. The water main break has lead to water restrictions in Prince George's County for nearly a week. A new pipe section was put in place Thursday, and the grout in the pipe joints cured overnight. Early Friday morning, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission crews "slowly opened a valve to begin filling the isolated stretch of pipe," according to a statement on the WSSC website. On Friday, WSSC crews were slated to "[flush] the repaired line during the day, which is part of the standard decontamination process to ensure water quality, before putting the transmission main back into service," the statement said. The …

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Update: Montgomery, Prince George's Counties Ordered to Restrict Water Usage

WSSC crews determined that the pipe that broke was a 60-inch water transmission pipe connected to a 54-inch line—not a 54-inch pipe, as originally reported.

Update, 1 p.m., Thursday, March 21: Repairs to the 60-inch water main that burst Monday night in Chevy Chase continued on Thursday. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission crews removed the damaged 20-foot section of the pipe and are working to weld a new section in place, according to a WSSC statement issued at noon Thursday. "Once repairs to the pipe are complete later this afternoon it will take several more days for the work to conclude," the statement read. Only the right-hand northbound lane of Connecticut Avenue between Dunlop Street and Manor Road in Chevy Chase Lake remained closed Thursday. Mandatory water restrictions continued Thursday for Montgomery and Prince George's counties. "There is evidence that [water] consumption is …

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Ian Cooper

9:20 am on Friday, March 22, 2013

I wish they would tax us so that they can maintain infrastructure properly (a 3 story high waterspout is evidence that they are not doing what's necessary), but they won't. Presumably I'm being held hostage by those who want something for nothing. As for eliminating one toilet flush per day, a 10% reduction in water usage is a bit more than that. As for me, I've done no laundry since the pipe …   more ›

WSSC to Complete $1 Billion in Repairs by 2015

The pricey project is federally mandated, reported the Gazette.

Thanks to a federally mandated project, the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) will be undertaking a massive pipe replacement and rehabilitation project with a $1 billion price tag, according to the Gazette.  The majority of the pipe repair will involved adding a lining to existing pipes, extending the life of the pipes by another 50 to 100 years, said WSSC spokesperson Mark Behe. The Gazette reported that around 5,000 pipes and manholes and 24 sewage basins need repairs. About 1.8 million customers in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties are served by WSSC. The exact schedule of of the repairs has not been reported. Read the full story on the Gazette.

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Water Restrictions Lifted

WSSC is almost fully back in business but urges residents to be conscious of water use.

  The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) has lifted mandatory water restrictions for Montgomery and Prince George's counties, effective immediately. Power was restored to almost all pumping stations and the distribution system has returned to near normal levels following Friday night's powerful storm, according to the WSSC. "Resume water usage as normal," WSSC said, but officials encouraged customers to be conscious of water usage during the extremely hot weather. If you did not experience low pressure and/or discolored water during the restrictions, there is no need to flush the water lines at your home or business.  If you did experience low pressure and/or discolored water WSSC recommends:   Questions? Contact the Customer …

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Updated: WSSC Orders Continued Restriction of Water Use

Two water plants lost power in punishing storms, forcing water restrictions in 100-degree temperatures.

Updated at 5:45 p.m.: Saturday's mandatory water restriction remains in affect for all Montgomery and Prince George’s County customers, residential and commercial. Friday night's severe storms knocked out power to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) two water filtration plants and other facilities. Crews from BG&E and PEPCO were working to restore power, the utility said. As of 12 p.m. Saturday WSSC reported that partial power had been restored at the water filtration plants. Some pumping stations remain without power, making it difficult to move water through the distribution system. The water restrictions were mandatory to preserve firefighting capabilities and to make the water supply last while repairs were under way, …

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Letter to the Editor

WSSC Spokesman on Terminating Water Pipe Upgrade in GHI

WSSC spokesman John C. White shares his response to a Feb. 2 Patch story on WSSC's termination of an infrastructure upgrade project.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) takes seriously its responsibility to always put customers first. In that spirit, we want to present aspects and facts about the GHI situation that were not included in the original story. WSSC representatives began meeting with representatives of the Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) in 2007 to discuss how best to proactively replace aging water mains in the area. Those are the lines that generally run underneath the streets. In addition, WSSC planned to replace the service lines, which are the connecting lines from the water main to the house. The current water mains and service pipes are more than 75 years old and are reaching the end of their useful life. The existing water lines in the GHI …

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GHI Says WSSC Terminated Project to Upgrade Water Pipes

WSSC has terminated an upgrade project on some of the housing cooperative's aging pipes, according to GHI general manager.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission's (WSSC) project to upgrade old water pipes is off, according to Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) General Manager Eldon Ralph. Yet in 2007, WSSC told GHI the water pipes needed upgrading, Ralph said in an interview on Wednesday. GHI Board of Directors President Tokey Boswell stated in an email to Patch on Tuesday that WSSC is ignoring an agreement they had with GHI and Greenbelt. “GHI, the City, and WSSC have an agreement from the 1950s that tells us how to work together. It seems WSSC believes they can change that agreement unilaterally, to the detriment of GHI,” Boswell wrote. WSSC representatives did not respond to requests for comment by press time. On Jan. 6, GHI received a letter from WSSC …

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Eat Your Turkey, Toss the Grease

Grease in drains causes more than 40 percent of all sewer outflows, according to the Washington Surburban Sanitary Commission.

This Thanksgiving you might be eating plenty of foods to clog your arteries, but the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is warning to keep the turkey grease out of the drain or it too will clog. Hot grease may pour down the drain easily, but when it cools it accumulates on the sidewalls of the sewer pipes. Over time backed-up sewer lines result in overflowing manholes and costly basement backups. Sanitary Sewer Overflows can discharge to storm drains and creeks causing potential health and environmental harzards, according to the WSSC. Instead the WSSC suggests pouring grease, fats and other oils into a can and throwing the can in the trash. They even offer free can caps. Log on to www.wsscwater.com for more information about the Can …

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WSSC Digs In for Winter

The water provider for Montgomery and Prince Georges counties replace aging water mains in a race against time.

They hide quietly beneath your house, crisscrossing under neighborhoods, roads and buildings, just waiting to burst and give you a headache. More than 5,500 miles of Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission pipes are buried beneath Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, and with winter settling in, officials are gearing up for breaks, leaks and bursts. Winter, said WSSC spokesman Jim Neustadt, is when underground water and sewer lines break or leak more frequently. The temperature of the river water varies, causing stress on the pipes, he said. That's why he was in a Gaithersburg neighborhood this morning with WSSC General Manager Jerry N. Johnson and other officials as work crews dug up and replaced a problematic water main. The work is …

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