A water main break in Largo shut down parts of Hampton Park Boulevard on Wednesday, as thousands of gallons of water gushed down the street. The 20-inch water main break cut off water for 27 customers in the Largo industrial park, according to Lyn Riggins, spokeswoman for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which provides water for Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Officials did not know what caused the 35-year-old main to burst.
The water main break gashed a 15-foot hole in the road, shutting down Hampton Park Boulevard between Edgewerth Drive and East Hampton Drive and releasing about 430,000 gallons of water. Water gushed as high as 8 feet out of the street, according to repair crews.
The break was not far from where a 54-inch water main burst in January, flooding the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway. Inspectors are still working to determine what caused the January burst.
Because of the relatively smaller size of the water main, it’s not clear whether or not WSSC will investigate what caused the pipe under Hampton Park Boulevard to burst.
Summer water main breaks are rare compared with the winter months. There have been 24 breaks and leaks this monthly, compared with 647 breaks and leaks in December, a record high for WSSC in a single month, according to Riggins.
More than a quarter of all water mains in the WSSC system are more than 50 years old, Riggins said. While WSSC is aware that older pipes are more likely to leak or burst, the commission lacks the funds to replace them, she said.
