Water main break causes sinkhole in Montgomery County neighborhood

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – A large sinkhole developed in an Olney neighborhood after an early morning water main break on Willow Grove road.

Brett Thomas says he woke up to the sound of WSSC water crews working outside his home.

“I went and checked and there was actually no water coming out of our faucets,” Thomas said.

Then, he looked out his window.

“There was just water running down the road,” he said, “and then, within the next couple of hours it had sunk into the ground. It’s pretty wild to see.”

Michael Lofgren heard a lot of noise outside as well. He asked his wife to look out their front window.

“And she goes, ‘Oh my God, there’s a muddy river,’” Lofgren said. “The street was flowing with muddy water. The street was buckled; water was flowing out from under the asphalt.”

WSSC water spokesperson Lyn Riggins says an 8-inch water main broke at around 4 a.m.

“By about lunchtime,” Riggins said, “our crews had made repairs, got it back into service and unfortunately, it broke again.”

The break left nearly a dozen homes without water, and a large sinkhole in the road.

“When a pipe does break there’s a lot pressure there,” Riggins said, “there’s a lot of water that then escapes and causes damage to the road.”

Neighbors say despite the hole’s size, it wasn’t much of an inconvenience.

“They’re already filling it,” Lofgren said, “so no big deal.”

WSSC water says the pipes and road repairs are now finished, and neighbors’ water service has been restored.

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