Burst Pipeline Disrupts Service

Arlington Residents Lack Water for Hours After Break

Water spews from beneath the Chain Bridge yesterday afternoon. The water main supplies Arlington County, much of which felt the effects of the break. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)

A failure in one of the Washington area's major water mains sent hundreds of thousands of gallons gushing out yesterday and cut off or sharply reduced the supply to much of Arlington County.

The failure occurred at the District end of Chain Bridge in a pipe that is part of Arlington's water-supply system. It dried up faucets and taps in much of the eastern and central part of the county, a county official said. It affected both homes and businesses and forced some restaurants to close.

A county spokeswoman said service had been restored by 8 last night. But officials said some areas, including high-rise apartments, might still experience low pressure "here and there."

County officials declared the restored supply safe from contamination late last night and rescinded an earlier suggestion to boil water before using it.

If water looked brown, officials said, residents should run cold water until clear, then for a minute more.

The failure occurred about 2:30 p.m. at what appeared to be a seam in a pipe 20 inches in diameter on the east bank of the C&O Canal, beneath the approach to the bridge.

Although the pipe is in the District, it is part of Arlington's water system. It channels water for Arlington's 200,000 residents from a treatment facility about one mile from the point of the break.

Officials said they restored service by using a backup line that is four feet in diameter and crosses the Potomac beneath the riverbed.

The cause of the failure was not immediately known.

Officials said that in addition to the western part of the 26-square-mile county, the Crystal City area appeared to escape the effects of the failure.

After the break, water gushing upward pounded against the underside of the bridge approach. The bridge was closed to traffic for about three hours until it was judged structurally sound.

At least one report of the break came from the canal towpath nearby, said Kenneth McCracken of the D.C. Emergency Management Agency. He said the caller frantically told of an erupting cascade of water.

The break was in one of three lines beneath the bridge that are connected in the District to a buried line 36 inches in diameter that comes from the Dalecarlia Reservoir. The three lines emerge from a vault underground on the canal bank, rise to the bottom of the bridge deck, then cross the Potomac River on the underside of the bridge.

"The whole freaking valve blew," said Kerry Payne of the emergency management office. "There was water everywhere."

Pressure fell for a time in parts of the District, officials said. But the main impact was felt in Arlington, which draws its 28 million gallons a day from the reservoir.

Across the county last night, people described the effects of the break. At a Days Inn near the Pentagon, an employee said water was back about 6:30 p.m.

Marsha Lederman, who lives in the south central part of the county, said that at a nearby store, an immigrant customer expressed bewilderment: "This doesn't happen in America."

At the Washington Sports Clubs facility in Clarendon, front desk associate Jocelyn Dorfman said the club had had "very little running water." She said employees told customers not to use the showers.

A Starbucks on Clarendon Boulevard closed and reopened about 7 p.m. when the water came back on, barista Rosie Raizen said.

At a Pizza Hut on Wilson Boulevard, manager Richard Rodriguez said he made do with gallons of bottled water from 7-Eleven.

Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon faced hard times with plastic plates and utensils, as well as bottled water and soda, an employee said.

While water was still out in many places, a woman living on North Highland Street in Arlington was asked if her household was affected.

"Only that we have no water," she said. That, she added, meant "beef stew from the microwave, instead of [cooking] roast chicken." But, she said, "we will still survive."

Staff writer Sue Anne Pressley contributed to this report.