Tense Rescues Follow Massive Water Main Break

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Rescue Workers Save Stranded Drivers

Emergency personnel rescue trapped motorists from a flooded street after a 66-inch water main burst in Montgomery County Tuesday morning.

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At least one rescuer had to be rescued himself, after the boat he had used to ferry two women to safety became filled with water. Fire Capt. Frank Doyle said Lt. Patrick Mitchell climbed into a one-seat wire basket that had been lowered from a helicopter and was carried to dry land.

Officials have warned for years that the system is in need of repairs, saying many pipes are decades old and worn down by ground water and acidic soil. Last year, the system reported a record 2,129 pipe breaks, which generally result in cut-offs in service and road flooding.

The sanitary commission on average replaces about 25 miles of pipe a year. But in February, the representatives from Montgomery and Prince George's counties who make up the sanitary commission opted not to assess an additional fee of $20 per month that had been proposed to fund a more widespread pipe replacement.

The six commissioners had given preliminary approval of the fee, but after a public outcry, the Prince George's representatives withdrew their support, saying the measure was unfair to low-income customers. Their decision was harshly criticized by then-WSSC General Manager Andrew D. Brunhart, who was finishing out his contract after the board had voted not to renew it.

"In my view, the public will no longer be able to trust the system that delivers water to residents," Brunhart said.

Montgomery school officials said schools throughout the county were told to close early because so many schools in the southern part of the county were affected, and county bus service does not allow for a staggered schedule.

After-school sports were canceled. But the school system said community activities scheduled for this afternoon and evening would take place in most county school facilities, except for those in 13 schools with low water pressure or no water. Aftercare would be available in all school buildings that have water, officials said. Day-care providers at schools without water were to call parents directly to make arrangements for their children.

During this morning's rescues, crews used regular boats, boats lowered from helicopters and the wire baskets to carry people to safety, fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said. Such equipment would more typically be for river or ocean rescues, he said, but were deemed appropriate because of the volume of water that covered the pavement and the velocity at which the current was moving.

"We've used ropes and rigging, guiding some of our rescue workers into the scene, and we've walked some people out," Piringer told reporters at the scene. "There were some elderly folks, there were some children and everyone in between."

John C. White, a WSSC spokesman, said engineers were trying to shut down three valves that supplied water to the ruptured pipe. They successfully closed one valve, he said, and were working on another.

"It's more complicated than turning off a faucet," he said. "It's like turning a big wheel."

He said it was still not known when all the valves would be shut off, how many people would lose service, where and for how long. He also said investigators had not yet discovered the cause of the break because they had not had a chance to examine it closely.