DC Water is setting up for emergency repairs to be performed on a very old piece of sewer pipe located near Rock Creek in Northwest.
During an inspection, DC Water found a 200-foot crack in the brick-lined, 6-foot pipe located in a section of the system known as the Rock Creek Main Interceptor, near 26th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Crews are working to divert the flow of the material in order for inspectors to get inside and more fully assess the situation.
Due to its close proximity to Rock Creek Parkway, DC Water wants to get the repairs done quickly before it collapses.
The section of combined sewer pipes handles a huge amount of wastewater every day.
“So it’s stormwater runoff as well as wastewater,” DC Water spokesperson Sherry Lewis said.
“It handles, on a wet day, up to 100 million gallons a day. On a dry day, 70 million gallons,” she said.
Workers have isolated the problem area.
There is no firm timeline yet on when the repairs can begin. DC Water acknowledges it’s dealing with a very old, combined sewer system. But a comprehensive inspection system is in place to identify structural deficiencies and develop plans to fix them.
Much of the infrastructure has already been upgraded.
DC Water has installed a series of underground tunnels to mitigate flooding in low-lying sections of the city, as well as contain overflows to the Anacostia River. Another tunnel project is underway now that — when it is completed — will help prevent combined sewer overflows in the Potomac River.
Lewis said that when repairs to pipe structures near Rock Creek Parkway begin, there should be no traffic impact on Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.
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