Ice Blankets Neighborhoods After Water Main Breaks Caused By Intense Cold
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Bone-chilling temperatures are causing water mains to break across the region.
WJZ's Mike Hellgren reports that more than 30 mains have broken during this current bitter cold streak.
Temperatures warmed a bit Wednesday, but the breaks kept happening.
"I'll be glad when the water comes back on because, you know, there's things I have to do today," Northwest Baltimore resident Constaneice Joseph told WJZ. "I really needed to get out to my appointment this morning and I'm not going without bathing."
Crews have been working 12-hour shifts to repair the pipes.
A Tuesday night main break, which has since been repaired, sent a wall of water into several homes in a Catonsville neighborhood. The water in the 100 block of Garden Ridge Road gushed out of the ground like a geyser at least five stories high.
The water doused homes in the freezing temperatures and turned yards into icy, arctic-looking landscapes.
Another break on Lombard Street in Upper Fells Point encased cars in ice. That break has also been fixed.
"We ask that people bear with us, our crews are working overnight and all day long to make sure that water is restored just as quickly as possible," says Department of Public Works spokesman Jeffrey Raymond.
The worst isn't over. Colder air is on its way following a powerful coastal storm expected to drop snow on Maryland Wednesday night into Thursday.
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