A fire hydrant broke on a brick-lined Georgetown sidewalk Wednesday, flooding the street and forcing authorities to close two blocks to repair the damage.
The water line burst at the base of an 8-inch fire hydrant on the 3300 block of Prospect Street at about 11 a.m. The water pressure knocked loose dozens of sidewalk bricks, which tumbled down the street in the flood. A 10-foot-wide hole opened around the half-cocked green hydrant.
“The hole got bigger and bigger,” said Uncle Park, owner of the dry-cleaning business near the hydrant. Park said he didn’t hear an explosion. He noticed the water after seeing a group of people gather outside his business.
Work crews cut off the water supply but hadn’t determined the cause of the break Wednesday afternoon, according to D.C. Water and Sewer Authority spokeswoman Tamara Stevenson. Georgetown is home to the city’s oldest water pipes, including some installed during the Civil War, but Stevenson said she didn’t think the rupture was caused by aged pipes.
No WASA customers were impacted, she said.
Washington Gas crews were also trying to determine if there was a leak after residents complained of smelling gas.
