DCist: Morning Roundup: Overboiled Edition

Stanton Park

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:27:24 -0500

Montgomery County water main break info from WSSC: WSSC has posted up to date information on the Montgomery County water main break on our website. For a FAQ sheet, details on boiling water, and a map of areas impacted, go to our website. What Happened? The break is located in the Derwood area near Muncaster Mill Road and Meadow Side Lane. It is a 48” main (This is new information. Originally WSSC thought it was a 36” main. The two run parallel.) It broke at 9:15 pm. This main is located in a wooded area used for recreation. It is near Lake Bernard Frank. On Sunday evening, no one noticed the water flowing into a lake with no people around. There were no gushers and no flooded streets. The pressure drop was noticed in the Control Center, but there was no visible evidence. Employees had to go out looking for the leak which they found around 5:00 this morning. The site is mostly inaccessible, and will require construction of a temporary access road to allow repairs to be made. As WSSC started shutting down valves to isolate the leak, another 12-inch water main in the 7200 block of Muncaster Mill at Redland Road burst. When you shut down a lot of valves other mains in the area can break. What is Being Done? WSSC crews began shutting down water valves around the county this morning, which is required to allow crews access to the break to determine the repairs needed. Pressure and water service was restored to many customers once the valves were closed. The WSSC is currently putting together a map with new data that will allow people to determine if they are within the advisory area or not. While WSSC does not have an exact number of people currently affected, the map will reduce the area included in the advisory and the anxiety. Releases will go out and media will be contacted when the data is ready. WSSC is hiring emergency contractors to repair the broken water man. Bids are due this afternoon and work will start tomorrow. Why the Boil Water Advisory? When water systems lose pressure there is an increased risk of contamination. Although WSSC do es not have an indication that the water system has been contaminated, as a precaution, the Boil Water Advisory was issued. The boil water advisory will continue until further notice or acceptable water quality is confirmed by water testing. WSSC expects this process to take at least three days. Boiling Your Water Water users are advised to bring water to a rolling boil for one minute before using. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and food preparation. Restoring water pressure and testing the water quality are expected to take at least three days. Why the Use Restrictions? Lack of pressure also affects the ability of the fire departments to fight fires. Therefore WSSC issued Mandatory Water Restrictions for everyone in the zone. WSSC is hopeful that pressure will be back to normal this evening as valves are shut down and water is rerouted. It will be necessary to cut off some WSSC customers completely until repairs are completed. Mandatory Water Restrictions Mandatory water restrictions are also in effect. Those restrictions include the following: No outside watering; No filling swimming pools; No doing laundry; No dishwashing; and Limiting your toilet flushing, if you have water. The water restrictions are in place so that there's enough water pressure for fire protection.

suances

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:41:13 -0500

No witnesses, no police report, first mentioned to Metro a month after the fact.....what a f'ing joke. And Barry resents the suggestion that he might be receiving special treatment? He says he didn't call the police because they don't come for minor accidents...well, according to his account this was a hit-and-run by a public bus. No, that's not worth calling the police over.... This stinks to high heaven.

guest number 10

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:29:39 -0500

@Drew think of the money metro would save if they hired you in their claims department.

flapjack

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:01:12 -0500

Is the water here safe? should be, it's just northern MoCo that's affected

j45rpm

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:52:10 -0500

So-all of the comments seem to be about Barry, but if I can change the subject briefly to the MontCo water issues-I assume that none of this affects Bethesda? Is the water here safe?

DL in DC

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:12:04 -0500

@Drew: It has to be either/or? I think it is probably both.

drew in adams morgan

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:57:09 -0500

According to Barry, he was parked in the curb lane on MLK Avenue, SE between W and Chicago Streets, when he was hit by the B2 bus, and blew his horn to stop. According to the Washington Post article, the damage was to the passenger mirror and door. But a quick visit to Google Maps shows that MLK Avenue is a two-way street (see extreme close up of the satellite option). So either Barry was illegally parked on the wrong side of the road, or he's full of it.

connie dobbs

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:45:34 -0500

@blittle: Home computer time was a bit of a luxury this weekend. Obviously, a little pent-up creativity does a body good. @bethesdaist:You're onto something—there was no A/C on the Orange Line & I sweated through my Ann Taylor suit. Group Lawsuit! Who's in?

ahaak

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:37:46 -0500

Did anyone else drive by NBC on Nebraska this weekend? What was the deal with the lady with the guitar? She was there when I drove by at 7pm and still there when I drove home at 11. Was she performing a 4+ hour musical tribute to Tim Russert? Is that weird?

sumergocognito

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:37:43 -0500

Why did congress never pass a law prohibiting felons from elective office in DC? That would take care of Barry, no?

dcist20009

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:25:02 -0500

Marion Barry’s crack dealer is $3200+ richer... This sets a very bad precedent for undocumented claims against WMATA. It is really unbelievable they paid him. Well maybe not.

TimmyTucker

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:24:14 -0500

Off the topic of Barry and the Bus, the blockade/security checkpoint is front page of the NY Times website right now. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/us/16roadblock.html?hp

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:22:16 -0500

Beware, Metro. Can you smell what the Brown Hornet is cooking? That's right. Boiled cabbage, cock-a-leekie, and bubble-and-squeak. Open a window or light a match, Cantoe. You're going to need more than one can of Glade Air Freshener by the time I'm done with you.

Bethesdaist

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:12:38 -0500

Wow, apparently Metro has damaged my ability to write a coherent sentence! I think I deserve more money for my suffering.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:08:15 -0500

Yup, he smells alright. It's the smell of JUSTICE.

Bethesdaist

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:08:10 -0500

Metro made me all sweaty on Friday and ruining my drycleaning and my blowout. I demand $3,000 and a shrubbery.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:06:20 -0500

A Metro bus raped my cattle and stampeded our women! GIMME GIMME GIMME!

Fluxgirl

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:04:49 -0500

monk...I smell a new superhero series on cable...call my people.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:02:45 -0500

A Metro bus hit my car. It was a couple of years ago, but I vividly recall the bus said "Metro" on it. It totally wrecked my Delorian. The flux capacitor needed to be completely re-built. I got my mechanic "Doc" to fix it for $1.5 million. But, because Metro is facing budget issues, I will request only that Metro pay me $500. Don't say I never did anything for Metro. Seriously, Barry is beyond stereotyping. He's shameless and looks out for #1. And yet his constituents love him to death. I don't get it. It's Stockholm Syndrome taken to a new level.

TimmyTucker

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:01:22 -0500

You know, I now seem to recall a MetroBus scraping my car 2 years ago while ildling my car on Penn. Ave in SE during rush hour and trying to buy pies and Good Books from that bow-tie wearing entrepreneur/weird guy. I think $5,000 should cover my damages. Actually, I'm feeling some residual whiplash pain too...better make it $15,000.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:00:27 -0500

Marion Barry owes his political career to a lousy Anthony Quinn movie. So, technically, he's Muammar Quaddafi's fault.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:55:33 -0500

So you're saying DC isn't a third rate banana republic? Yes, we have no bananas, but we got plenty of third-rate: from the snooty waitrons to the Angola-style self-segregation, we got third-rate kleptocracy in spades. The Mouth of Sauron is ever spewing lies about being a victim of "the man." He's refined the cult of victimhood to high art.

boondoggle

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:52:55 -0500

Didn’t Marion Berry lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott before becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means? No, wait, that was someone else.

IMGoph

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:47:52 -0500

honest to god, i don't care if the guy is a member of the board, a councilmember, whatever. the usual legal proceedings were not followed in giving mr. barry this little $3000 gift. catoe knew about it? can his ass. this is the same bullshit thinking that allowed millions of dollars to walk out of the district's treasury. i love dc. but i can't defend this. this definitely makes us look like a third-rate banana republic. god bless you mr. barry, but when you're dead and gone, maybe we can finally turn the page on some of this ridiculousness...

blittle

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:41:13 -0500

Miss Connie must of not let monkey no where near a computer this weekend. oh-oh. someone was naughty. Quelle supris!

zippy

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:40:49 -0500

Nino Brown=Marion Barry thats gully....

Wizzyliz

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:34:59 -0500

"Dat bus hit mah caw!" How could Metro settle a claim like that? It's absolutely ridiculous. METRO SUCKS MARION'S .................

monkeyrotica

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:33:03 -0500

Teenagers stabbed at a "peace festival?" Ironic violence in my home town of DC? This looks like a job for...THE BROWN HORNET! [Ducks into Port-o-Let at Half Street construction site, emerges in Green Lantern underoos with a turd where the lantern should be.] [VOICEOVER: By day, mild mannered socialite gadfly, grammar nazi, and pervert Monkeyrotica trolls comment threads making juvenlie fart/pee jokes. But when duty calls, he joins his ninja helper monkey chauffeur Kato as the sewage hurling scourge of sulpherous justice, keeping DC safe from gentrification, passive voice, and whatever he feels like depending on how his bowels are acting up. Join our heroes as they spy a suburban soccer mom on her iPhone ordering a Whole Foods gluten-free birthday cake and being tied to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro tracks.] KATO: Look, Brown Hornet! It's your arch nemesis, Ghetto Fabulous! BH: I see him. Set feces to "stun." GF: Yo, yo! Best be slidin' me that phone, bee-yotch! SOCCER MOM: Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping! [Hucks poo, clocks GF in head] GF: Curses! I coulda sold this joint on eBay if it hadntna been for you meddling chimps! BH: Ghetto Fabulous, your reign of larceny and tortured ebonics is at an end! Don't do the crime if you can't do the...SLIME! [Drops trou, releases a hail of violent explosive diarrhea.] KATO: Good thing I got that hundred pack of White Castle burgers on my way back from Trenton, eh Bee-H? [Both laugh convulsively. Cue Rossini's "Flight of the Bumblechimp."] [VOICEOVER: Tune in for next week's episode: Buckaroo Banzai versus the World Crime League.]