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Broken water main leaves Catonsville neighborhood without water for days

Broken water main leaves Catonsville neighborhood without water for days
Broken water main leaves Catonsville neighborhood without water for days 01:48

BALTIMORE - Several homes in the Woodbridge Valley neighborhood of Catonsville are into day four without water after service was stopped Friday.

Resident Lee Burs estimates about 100 homes are affected.

Crews spent much of Monday working to repair a water main that broke on Friday.

"We did have a little trickle. We don't have that now," Catonsville resident Lee Burs said. "It has nothing coming out of it."

Lee Burs, like many in his community off Rolling Road, don't have running water because of the water main break.

"What I have is a bucket near every bathroom," Burs said.

"You can't bathe properly. You can't wash your hands properly," added Catonsville resident Veronica Allen. "You can't cook and it's right around the holidays."

The water was out all weekend.

"Friday afternoon is when I noticed we did not have water," Allen said.

"Four days without water, and is that coming out of our bill?" asked Katryna Burs.

Neighbors said a nearby part of the main was just fixed last week before this new issue popped up Friday.

"When we call 311, the only response we get is, 'We can't tell you when someone is going to come out to fix it,'" Allen said. "So, it's very frustrating."

"Then, replace the pipes. Don't just patchwork it," Katryna Burs said.

On Monday, it was a cavalry of sorts while crews were digging up the ground.

"They're finally starting to do what they should have done on Friday," Lee Burs said.

Lee Burs' wife bought eight gallons of water, but he's hoping he won't need the final four.        

"I'm thinking about people with babies," Allen said. "I'm thinking about elderly people and people with medical conditions who might need access to water."

As of 5 p.m. Monday, Baltimore City Public Works, which is responsible for water service in Baltimore County, did not have any official information about customers affected or a timeline of service restoration.

Department of Public Works officials said you should keep a gallon of water on hand per person for three days.

So, a family of four should have 12 gallons of emergency water supply, specifically for situations like this. 

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