Boil water advisory still on in north Baltimore Co.
Pipes still being flushed after Monday water main break
Repairs to a water main break in northern Baltimore County were completed Wednesday, but the pipes still are being flushed, so customers continue to be advised to boil water, officials said.
A 20-inch main under York Road near Thornton Mill Road burst late Monday causing pressure to drop in an area north of Shawan Road spanning Cockeysville, Hunt Valley, Sparks and Broadmead.
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works issued a precautionary boil water advisory for the area Tuesday night. The ongoing advisory affects about 1,900 customers.
Precautionary boil water advisories are issued when there is a loss of water pressure to one or more residences because of the risk of contamination from E. coli and other bacteria. No known E. coli or other bacterial contamination has been detected in this case.
Repairs to the water main were finished as of 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, but crew members need to flush the pipes and test the water, which can take up to 48 hours to complete, said Blair Adams, spokesperson for the city public works department.
For now, residents are urged to continue boiling water for one minute even after service resumes, Adams said.
The Maryland Department of the Environment will make the call on when to lift the water advisory.
Baltimore County is prepared to distribute water through Friday if necessary, said Lowell Melser, chief public information officer for the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation.
Cars were lined up at noon Wednesday outside the water distribution site at USA Lacrosse headquarters at 2 Loveton Circle in Sparks Glencoe. About 100 people had shown up to collect water early Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
Frank Mentzer, who lives in the area and came to get water, said he learned about the break through the news about 4 a.m. Wednesday.
“I thought I’d get an alert, but I didn’t,” he said, noting that he stays prepared for such situations by having several days worth of clean drinking water on hand. “It’s temporary. We’ll deal with it.”
The city public works department released an interactive map showing the advisory area. Residents there should bring their water to a rolling boil for one minute, then let it cool before:
Drinking
Brushing your teeth
Washing fruits and vegetables
Preparing baby food and formula Making ice
Giving to pets
All stored water, drinks or ice made recently should be discarded. Boiled water can be stored in a clean container with a cover. Water does not have to be boiled before it is used for bathing as long as it is not consumed.
Residents and businesses in Cockeysville, Hunt Valley and Sparks also should scale back their water use “out of an abundance of caution,” the department advised.
Officials were notified of a water main break shortly after 6 p.m. Monday, Adams said. “DPW crews were dispatched to the scene and saw that there were some imperfections and the road was damaged and had
an immense amount of water,” flowing on the road, she said.
Crews worked Monday night and Tuesday to figure out what was causing the leak — including removing debris, digging and shutting down roads — and discovered a break in a 20-inch water main, she said.
Closures on York Road between Thornton Mill Road and Broadmead caused traffic delays into Tuesday night. The State Highway Administration reported about noon Wednesday that it expects the closure to continue through the evening. Motorists should use Interstate 83 as an alternate route until the repairs are completed, the agency tweeted.
A separate water main break that first was reported by the State Highway Administration at 11:34 p.m. Monday in White Marsh also shut down roads. This break was repaired Tuesday night and is unrelated to the one in northern Baltimore County, Adams said.
Philadelphia Road, also called Route 7, remain closed in both directions between Campbell and White Marsh boulevards, also called Route 43, for road repairs, the agency tweeted.
Crews expected to have the northbound lane reopen at some point Wednesday, the agency reported at about noon.