A massive water main break has caused a geyser to shoot up and flood parts of Bowie, Maryland on Friday morning.
The 24-inch water main break led to an approximated three million gallons of water bursting out onto the streets, flooding Mitchellville Road at 5:30 AM, according to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC).
Due to the recent blizzard that buried Bowie under an approximate two feet of snow, shutting down the water's main valves will take a few hours, said officials.
Local civilians living around Mitchell Road area stated that while they were using water, they noticed the color of the water changing from clear to murky.
In the past month, Maryland had a few recurring incidents of water breaks.
First, "there was a water main break on Cranbrook Road," said an official. Furthermore, he said, "When the bus went over it this morning, part of the roadway collapsed and the back end of the bus fell into a sinkhole."
A school bus near Baltimore County school was on its way to Dulaney High School when all of a sudden, it was stuck in a sinkhole after water main break back in January 6, 2016. Out of the blue, the bus came to an abrupt stop and lunged forward as the bus plunged into the pavement. With the power of two massive tow trucks, the bus was safely taken out of the sink hole. The road was jammed and ice was scattered everywhere.
Baltimore also faced devastating water breaks near Dukeland Street and Gwynns Falls Parkway around 9 p.m. on January 13, 2016.
Department of Public Works spokesman Jeff Raymond stated that the team worked vigorously through the night to shut down the water to the 36 inch line. In addition, they checked the surrounding area basements for potential flooding and salt trucks had a graveyard shift to make sure the road was clear from ice build-up.
The following schools closed the next morning because of the water break: Gwynns Falls Elementary, ConneXions, and the Maryland academy of Tech and Health Sciences. According to Baltimore City Schools, these three schools did not resume for the weekend.
A good chunk of Mitchellville Road will remain closed the midst of fixing the water break in Bowie due to the geyser.
