Bowie water main repairs done, residents told to flush lines, avoid hot water

Bowie residents served by the city water plant may still have to wait several hours for normal pressure to return, even though repairs to the water main break were completed by 8:15 p.m. April 15. City officials said crews were slowly recharging the system after the work and that the line would have to be shut down again to finish additional repairs tied to the leak.

The immediate advice to households is practical and specific: turn off washing machines and dishwashers if they are running, avoid using hot water until service stabilizes, and run cold water at the lowest faucet until it clears. If the water stays rusty or cloudy, residents may need to clean faucet aerators and flush the water heater so sediment does not get pulled into the tank.

The city said the repair work followed “last night’s leak,” with crews assessing damage and completing the necessary fixes along the line. That matters in Bowie because the city’s water plant serves about 7,900 customers, and pressure changes can ripple quickly through neighborhoods that depend on the system. The city says those customers include homes and businesses in Bowie Forest, Buckingham, Chapel Forge, Derbyshire, Forest Drive, Foxhill, Glenridge, Gradys Walk, Heather Hills, Hilltop Shopping Center, Idlewild, Kenilworth, Longridge, Market Place Shopping Center, Meadowbrook, Overbrook, Rockledge, Somerset, Tulip Grove, Victoria Heights, Whitehall and Yorktown.

The city also warned that discoloration can happen during water-main work or hydrant flushing. That is especially relevant now because annual spring hydrant flushing began April 7 and is scheduled to continue through May 20, typically between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays. City officials said that routine flushing, along with other maintenance, can stir up sediment and leave water looking brown, yellow or cloudy even when it is safe to drink after it clears.

Bowie’s water system is not small. The Utilities Division maintains about 175 miles of water and sewer mains, and the system was originally built by the Levitt Corporation in the early 1960s. Some neighborhoods are served by the city water plant, while the rest of Bowie is served by WSSC Water. Separate water-system improvements in Kenilworth, including a 2.1-mile water main replacement and structural lining project that began April 13, add more work to an already busy stretch for the city’s water crews.