WATER MAIN BREAK
FIXED IN ELKDRIGE, MARYLAND; SERVICE RESTORED. WATER MAIN REPAIRS IMPACT MORE
THAN 600 PEOPLE IN ELKRIDGE
ELKRIDGE, Md. —A water main break in Howard County early
Friday morning left hundreds without water and forced classes to be canceled at
an area school.
A 12-inch water main broke on Old Waterloo Road in
Elkridge right across the street from Deep Run Elementary School and an
apartment complex, which meant no water for the school and about 600 customers.
Tricia Collins-McCarthy, principal of Deep Run
Elementary School, said she found out about the break around 5 a.m. and was
able to get the word out that school was canceled.
"(We) got all the information out to our key staff
members through social media and contacts in the community. We let the
community know, also staff went to bus stops for us today,"
Collins-McCarthy said.
By late Friday morning, crews had placed a cap on the
pipe to stop the leak. By mid-afternoon the line had been fixed and water was
restored.
Area residents took advantage of free water made
available at Deep Run Elementary School.
"I'm home sick from work. It's a little
inconvenient, (it) would be less if I was working today, but I'm home all day
sick, so we'll see how it goes," said Patrick Miller.
"I can't take a shower, can't wash dishes, can't
cook certain meals -- it really hurts a lot of people," said Dave Hersh.
According to county utilities officials, January and
February is when they see the largest number of water main breaks.
As far as the cause for the break, it wasn't because of
a ground shift, rather the drastic temperature change of the water flowing
through the pipe from reservoirs to the north.
"When there are big swings in the water temperature
in the lakes, it's similar to when you put an ice cube in hot water, that cold
water comes through the pipe, and cracks the pipes and that's what breaks water
mains, not the air temperature," said Steve Gerwin, bureau chief of the
Howard County Bureau of Utilities.
As residents returned home from work, public works
officials asked people to flush their lines by running the water for about
10-15 minutes, which should get any discoloring out of the water. Officials
said the water is safe.
