Large sinkhole forms after water main break in Baltimore County, people left without water

A large sinkhole has closed a portion of Joann Drive after a water main broke in Windsor Mill, in Baltimore County.

Baltimore's Department of Public Works said it is repairing an 8-inch water main, and more than a dozen nearby homes have been without water since Monday night.

"Our crews are on site at the location and are actively working to repair the water main break," a DPW spokesperson said.

DPW stated that water was delivered to the approximately 20 households affected. 

The road is blocked off to traffic.

Water main ruptured last month on York Road

In July, DPW worked to repair a major water main break that blocked roads and forced some businesses to temporarily close.

Crews said a water main burst while a water line replacement project was in the works along York Road.

DPW said an aging 30-inch water main ruptured on York Road between Schilling Road and Ashland Avenue.

Lauren Buckler, the director of Public Works and Transportation, said the project involves adding a new water line and later disconnecting the old 30-inch line.  

Buckler said the next phase of the water line replacement project would be on York Road, from Wight Avenue to Shawan Road, which would cover the area where Friday's broken water main sent water flowing onto the streets.

"That section is designed," Buckler said. "We're moving forward toward bidding construction. We hope to be awarding construction by the end of this calendar year."

Buckler stated that the county has been working on this project for more than two decades, and it could take an additional two years to complete.

"This is still a busy section of road," Buckler said. "There will be a lot of traffic maintenance while we're doing that. So, it's not that we just shut down and move full steam ahead like this was because this was an emergency."