Evening star., 1952-06-26
Photos of Breok in Voter Moin. Pooe "A

Photos Of Breok in Voter Moin. Poee "A
it may take two days to repair
the broken main, but meanwhile,
other mains are adequate to sup
lply the city's needs and no short
age of water need be feared.
The water crisis-worSt in the
city'S history-developed shortly
after pm. yesterday when a So
inch high-pressure feeder main
broke 10 feet under Canal road
opposite the entrance to the
Georgetown University gym
naSium.
GeySer Breaks Pavement.
With a roar, a geyser tore
through the pavement and shot 20
feet into the air. Within an hour
20 million gallons of water poured
through the break before Workmen
could close emergency valves.
Two other mains alongside the
ruptured one-48 and 80 inchers-
remained intact and today they
are carrying the load that for
merly poured through the broken
main.
The cast iron main that broke
was installed in 1872. A section of
pipe four feet long was split wide
open. Mr.. Auld said the pipe may
have been cracked by highway vi
bration or by blasting when the
Georgetown stadium roadway was
built this spring.
Elevated Areas Hit.
The line that broke feeds mains
in the 7-140 foot elevation areas
that cut a zig-zag sWath across
the most thickly populated Sec
tions of the city.
Water was shut off from homes,
hospitals and business establish
ments in Georgetown between Q
and M streets, the Potomac River,
Rock Creek Park and Thirty
seventh street.
East of Rock Creek Park the
parched areas were bounded
roughly by Florida avenue, New
York avenue and North Capitol
street in the northwest section.
Practically all the Capitol Hill
area, including the Capitol itself
went dry. This desert" extended
to the Anacostia River between F
street NE. and L street Sc.
Northeast Dry Area.
In the upper northeast section
the dry area was bounded roughly
by Florida avenue, West Virginia
avenue. Bladensburg road, Mount
Olivet road, Twenty-sixth street
and Benning road.
Danger of fire created a real
emergency in the areas where
mains were dry. The Fire Depart
ment sent Sewer Department tank
trucks containing 1000 gallons of
water to each of the six battalion
headquarters in the affected areas.
Firemen were instructed to be pre-
lpared to stretch hoselineS from
fire plugs in unaffected parts OF
the city in event a large fire broke
out. Fortunately, only one small
fire-in a Sofa-waS reported dur
ing the emergency.
Hospitals drew upon emergency
reserve supplies of water and re-
ported that no patients suffered
No Houses Nearby.
The water main broke at a spot
where the least harm could be
done. There are no houses along
the stretch of Canal Road where
the geyser erupted and the ad-
Joining canal served as a natural
catch basin for the flood. Canal
road was flooded over a FIVE
block area and the flood waters
spilled over the 21a foot canal
wall at one point. Storm sewers
emptying into the Canal poured
torrents into the stream.
One taxicab, stalled by motor
trouble few minutes before the
break, was inundated up to its
hoorboards.
/ Police acted quickly to block off
Canal road at Thirty-sixth street
and at Foxhall road. Today
Canal road is restricted to one
way east-bound traffic during the
(See WATER, Page A-4.)