UPDATE – Sunday – 5/12/2013, 11:42 a.m. ET
It was a 20-inch water main with a five- to six-foot hole that broke yesterday, cutting off water near Rhode Island Avenue and 17th Street NW. WTOP’s Hank Silverberg reports that the leak has been repaired with a new section of pipe, but only after millions of gallons of water leaked out, much of it into a local construction site.
The ruptured pipe was installed in 1897 and it may have been damaged by the construction work just a few feet away. Nearby hotels, condos and businesses may still have low water pressure Sunday as a result of the break, but service has been restored.
EARLIER – Saturday – 5/11/2013, 7:13 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON – A water main break has closed some roads in the District.
The District Department of Treansportation says portions of 17th and M streets near Rhode Island Avenue in northwest D.C. are closed to traffic.
Around 4:30 a.m., a 20-inch water main broke, flooding the buildings next door and a nearby construction site.
The water has not been completely turned off yet. D.C. water crews are investigating and the public is asked to avoid those streets. The cause of the break is currently unknown.
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