Just weeks after construction began on a reconstruction of 17th Street between Massachusetts and Florida Avenues, water lines have now broken four times, according to members of the Dupont Circle ANC (2B).

Today, a large water main broke, creating a large fountain of water and a river of water in the area. Based on a secondhand report, one neighborhood leader told me that a contractor working on a catchbasin for the project hit the water main.

Here’s a video from reader Adam complete with various exclamations of surprise:

Aside from today’s break, if indeed the contractor physically hit the line, most of the breaks are coming from a combination of the cold weather, pipes sitting exposed, and the old age of the pipes.

The ANC will be discussing the water issues stemming from the project at this Wednesday’s meeting. The ANC had already expressed many concerns about contruction impacts on businesses, inculding trees and the staging of various phases, after having bad experiences with a similar streetscape project on P Street west of Dupont Circle.

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Tagged: 17th street, dc, dc water, ddot, public spaces, sustainability

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.