Baltimore Sets Up Command Center To Address Water Problems
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Day after day, the sub-freezing temperatures are unrelenting, causing hundreds of water line breaks. So many, crews can't keep up.
WJZ has been updating you on this never-ending problem, plaguing thousands of people
Rick Ritter shows us the high-tech command center to respond to the record calls for help.
Crews have been responding to hundreds of calls a day. More than 2,000 people are still without water. Some have been without it for weeks.
It's chaos across Baltimore City: yards engulfed in water, basements turned to swimming pools and driveways chipping away, piece by piece.
"The end of the block is locked in ice," one woman said.
An overload of busted pipes the city can't keep up with. In Southwest Baltimore, it's been gushing water, wreaking havoc on homes like Bob Handley's.
"Water just ran for three days," he said. "My neighbor called me and said there's water coming down our driveway."
It's a problem being seen across Baltimore City. Vacant homes have busted pipes. With their basements flooded, which trickles into neighbor's yards, it has them fearing the worst--wondering if their homes will cave in.
"I'll be worried about my foundation of my house because all the water comes right behind me," said Handley.
Just one of thousands of calls that forced the city to open a 24-hour command center. More than 2,000 people are still without water.
"It happens because we have an unprecedented weather emergency," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. "We're doing everything that we can to put the resources in place to deal with it."
As the Department of Public Works ramps up crews in an effort to get a grip on what's been a hard-hitting winter season.
DPW says it's increased crews by 400 percent--some working around the clock.
If you suffer a water line break, call 311.
