BALTIMORE MD (July 24, 2013) - At approximately 8:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, reports of widespread water outages were communicated to the Department of Public Works (DPW). Thousands of customers were affected, with no water or low water service. The source was quickly determined to be a broken 36-inch water main in an industrial area on Holabird Avenue at South Clinton Street. Crews isolated the break and stopped the water loss by closing valves, and water service was restored to the majority of affected customers within several hours.

This broken water line had a secondary impact in that the Curtis Bay Tank, a water storage facility for the southern part of the impacted area, lost almost all of its water supply. This has resulted in some residents experiencing low water pressure. Through water conservation in zip codes 21224, 21225, 21226 and 21227, the water levels in the Curtis Bay Tank are rising. In order to complete this process, DPW has asked residents to continue to conserve water at least until Friday.

Another side-effect of water main breaks may be cloudy or discolored water. Customers experiencing this should remove the aerator from a faucet, preferably on the lowest level of the house or building, and run the water until it clears. Customers experiencing a total water outage in the City should call 311.

Repairs to the broken main continue. Traffic on Holabird Avenue between Clinton Street and Baylis Street will remain closed through the duration of the repairs.

DPW Director Alfred H. Foxx said, “This was a major water service disruption, and although water service has been restored, we ask customers in the affected areas to continue to conserve water until repairs have been completed.”

This break occurred on an 80-year-old cast iron main and is indicative of the vulnerability of a large portion of the City’s infrastructure. At this time, there are five other active water main breaks in the system.

To address aging infrastructure failures, Baltimore is investing $300 million over the next five years to greatly accelerate the replacement of water mains.