UPDATE:
WASHINGTON – Crews have finished repairing a 24-inch water main that burst on Mitchellville Road in Bowie and the road has reopened to traffic, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission said.
EARLIER:
WASHINGTON — Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission crews are working to fix a 24-inch water main that burst on Mitchellville Road in Bowie Friday morning.
“It’s going to take some time to close a main of this size, and then you’ve got snow on the ground and that compounds the problem of finding valves,” said WSSC spokeswoman Lynn Riggins.
Crews have turned off the water and were working to reach the buried pipe. It was unclear how long it would take to repair the 19-year-old pipe. But Riggins said repairs will continue throughout the day and likely into the night.
Drivers should expect the road to be closed all day.
Riggins said it is more time consuming to repair broken pipes when there is packed snow on the ground.
About 50 customers, including some townhouses on Everglade Lane, were without water, she said.
So far this month, the utility has responded to 313 water main breaks.
Water main break in Bowie turns Mitchellville Rd into a river. #wtop pic.twitter.com/z7LNYHhPKr
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) January 29, 2016
