Portions of Prince George’s County Face Water Shortage
Laurel – July 15, 2013: A section of pipe in a vital 54-inch concrete pipeline appears to be failing, and parts of Prince George’s County may be without water for a few days while repairs are made. As a result WSSC is urging customers to begin stocking up on water immediately. Prince George’s County Emergency Services will be working with hospitals, nursing homes and others to ensure they have access to water.
Some of the communities likely to be affected include Morningside, Hillcrest Heights, Camp Springs, Forest Heights, Temple Hills, and Oxon Hill, including Joint Base Andrews and the National Harbor. Please check our interactive map (http://gisweb.wsscwater.com/waterrestrictions/) to see if you are in the affected area. If you’re not sure, just type your address in the search box on the upper left side of the page.
WSSC expects to issue mandatory water restrictions for the affected area Tuesday afternoon. We hope this will buy additional time for residents to stock up on water and allow WSSC to continue filling its system to extend the time we can provide service.
The pipe is Pre-stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) and located inside the Beltway between Suitland Parkway and Forestville Road. Our monitoring system has recorded an increasing number of wire breaks in the pipe. That’s a signal that this type of pipe is beginning to fail.
This pipeline is unique in our system in that there is little or no redundancy that could provide water to customers during repairs. That’s why it’s likely tens of thousands of our customers in Prince George’s County will lose service for a few days.
We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your patience.
Please visit our website and Facebook page for conservation information during restrictions.
https://www.facebook.com/WSSCWater