“Dear PoPville,
I’ve been trying to get in touch with Washington Gas for several days now but their phone system says they’re experiencing higher than normal call volume, keeps you on hold for an hour, and then eventually hangs up on you. Washington Gas tweeted on Nov 10th about the delays but there’s no proposed solution. (I’m not surprised by this, just frustrated.) (more…)
Photo by Erin
“Dear PoPville,
Anyone else in the area have an issue with water pressure around 14th/R and 15th/R? After a bunch of work was done laying pipes on R street (don’t know if it’s actually related), my water pressure went down. I guess the work on R street has been going on from March to August/September. And during that time up until now, the pressure has changed. If you have a similar issue in the area, what have you done to fix the problem?”
Lindsay writes: “Bored and curious, anyone know what these three box things on this lamppost are for? Likely comms related?”
Some early educated guesses: (more…)
Photo by Joanna Hiatt Kim
Ed. Note: If interested in following these events as they unfold – you can follow our twitter feed @PoPville here.
We received the first report at 10:09pm last night (Wednesday):
“Seriously, what’s with the explosion sounds (similar to a generator blowing) that we’ve heard several times in Fort Totten? The power has gone out several times again.”
“Same! We are without power near Fort Totten metro – two or three huge booms tonight. Same thing earlier this morning, but luckily power just flickered then.”
“The loud bangs are continuing. In the past the loud bangs came first, then we lost power. Tonight I only heard the bangs after we lost power. Intermittent sirens somewhere nearby.”
“It’s a transformer or some power line on 12th between Allison and Buchanen, it’s been exploding every couple days. Pepco was working on it earlier today after it happened, but just happened again minutes ago” (more…)
Sharrae reports around 4:45pm in Brookland:
“Water main burst on 12th and Hamlin st NE. This is from 900 block Hamlin. Video by @samddenney” (more…)
Photo by genghizKen
“Dear PoPville,
1) My husband and I live in a single family home in Brookland. Our house is a classic early 1900s bungalow. We looked at adding a dormer to the back of the top floor of the house to add room for an extra bedroom and bathroom. Long story short it was a little outside of our current budget. Now we have started toying around with the idea of an ADU (“accessory dwelling unit” aka tiny house) or even revamping an Airstream to park in our driveway with the hope that my husband can use it as an office thus freeing up an extra bedroom. I know the city changed the regulations regarding ADUs back in 2016, has anyone had any experience with ADUs? Curious to hear if this is even feasible.
2) We had a very unpleasant surprise last week (more…)
7th and P Street, NW
Thanks to Charlotte R. for sending from Shaw just before 1pm.
“Dear PoPville,
I live on 7th&F, not far from H St Whole Foods. In NE DC we have been facing days of power fluctuations. 5+ times a day the electricity goes out. It’s only for a second, but enough to reset the internet, which is not ideal in this era of Work From Home zoom meetings. Pretty awkward to get kicked out of work calls in the middle of a presentation. My neighbors and I have been calling Pepco, but this continues. (2 cases already today). Thought I would reach out to the PoPville community – have others been experiencing this? Any suggestions?
Update: Just had our 3rd outage of the morning…”
Photo by John Sonderman
From DC Water:
“DC Water is warning customers to beware of people claiming to represent the utility to gain access to their homes.
DC Water was made aware of a police report that says two suspects dressed as construction workers approached a home in the 3000 block of M Street, SE. Police say the men claimed to be from DC Water and said they “needed to check pipes inside the home. The homeowner refused to let them in, at which point the suspects produced a handgun and tried to force their way into the home. The homeowner was able to get the door shut and the suspects fled the location.”
The suspects do not work for DC Water and our crews will not try to gain access to a property without prior authorization. If someone claiming to be from DC Water shows up at your door asking for access, please do not allow them in. If you fear for your safety, call 911 immediately to report the suspicious behavior. We also ask that you call our Customer Care Department at (202) 354-3600 to report it. (more…)
From DC Water:
“Two initiatives to assist flood victims were announced by DC Water last night, including one that will give residents direct financial assistance with removing standing water damage in their homes.
The two programs are one time only and are aimed at helping customers who were impacted by the historically heavy rainfall of September 10 which caused heavy flooding in upper Northeast DC and across the region. (more…)