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'This Is A Complex Situation' | DPW Still Working On Poe Homes Water Main Break

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Residents of a West Baltimore neighborhood are on their fifth day with limited or no water.

City officials are calling it a "complex situation" and said repairs have not been easy.

Many volunteers have taken it upon themselves to distribute water and donate food.

"I use this water to flush my toilet," said James Long, a Poe Homes resident.

Long fills water jugs in West Baltimore.

"I'm telling you, it's miserable," said Jacqueline, another Poe Homes resident. "It's summertime. You need water,"

She said it comes back on but it's only a trickle.

There's also only a trickle in Adrianedette Stevens' kitchen.

"This is a mess. I can't wash clothes. I can't wash my kids up. I have six kids including triplets. What am I supposed to do?" Stevens said.

Baltimore City Public Works said they needed to shut down 32 valves to isolate a break, which cut off services for 1,000 people.

But overnight Wednesday, another valve broke in the closed position, shutting off the water again.

"They ain't doing their jobs, man. It's been a week. If we were out in the county, it'd have been fixed. It took them almost 3 days. But, since we're down here, they're taking their time with it," Long said.

Volunteers joined the City in supplying water.

"It is no time to play the blame game or point fingers. Right now, you just gotta do what you gotta do," said Marvin Mckenstry, a pastor for Victory House Worship Center. 

While parents like Adrianedette are left relying on friends until it's fixed.

"And I still have to pay rent. So, you're telling me that throughout the whole week and then the weekend it's going to be like this? So my kids are supposed to stay in here with no water? Where am I supposed to go I don't have anywhere else for my kids to go," Stevens said.

Some organizations are filling the void when it comes to showers. Hope on Wheels has a mobile shower set up on Poppleton.

University of Maryland Baltimore is handing out flyers offering free showers there until 6 p.m.

DPW officials said they are hopeful water will be restored by Saturday, and they are working on a temporary fix tapping into a nearby line.

Jack Young released a statement in regard to the incident saying, in part:

"The water outage at Poe Homes is completely unacceptable. I visited with residents and members of my senior staff who are currently on site. DPW repair crews have been on site and are working hard to restore water services."

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