Crews Respond To Another Baltimore Water Main Break
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's happened again. A water main break cripples mid-town Baltimore, flooding streets and shutting down roads. It's one of three water mains to break in less than a week.
Kai Jackson explains there is renewed concern about the pipes under our feet.
The Department of Public Works has its hands full with water main breaks.
Baltimore was hit with another gushing water main break. This time, a 30-inch main broke about 8 a.m. Monday on Madison Street between Guilford and Calvert. The break buckled the road, forced streets to close, snarled rush hour traffic, caused some vehicles to be towed and left many homes and businesses without water while the Department of Public Works tried to fix it.
Photo Gallery: Crews Work To Fix Several Water Main Breaks In A Week
A new 30-inch pipe is replacing the one that's broken. But some residents in the neighborhood say the city's response to these breaks need to be more proactive and less reactive.
"I'd like to know if they have a plan in place. I would also really like to know if they even know the extent of the system they have right now," said downtown resident Tom Koenig.
The city acknowledges an aging system is part of the problem but says recent events like Hurricane Sandy could also be to blame. Last week, the art district of Charles Street saw a river of water after a water main break in North Baltimore.
"You have a lot of water, you've had a lot of rain, you've had Sandy come through so these pipes have been moving for generations," said Kurt Kocher, Department of Public Works.
In Rosedale, a 16-inch water main broke at Philadelphia Road and Rossville Boulevard on Monday just after noon. For a short time, it affected Franklin Square Hospital and the Community College of Baltimore County Essex campus.
The Department of Public Works says that those without water in Baltimore County may have it restored by Tuesday morning.
