from a previous discussion

“Dear PoPville,

I recently bought a house that had been rented for a while. There are eight phone and TV wires coming into the house, from two different poles. One of the poles also has two wires hanging down and neatly coiled at about waist level. The poles are in front of the house and the whole things just looks like a mess. Is there any way to get the wires cleaned up? Do I have to call Comcast and Verizon? Can I hire my own contractor or even cut the wires myself?”


Thanks to all who reported on Saturday. Meyer wrote: “Around 9am this morning, driving up Woodley Rd and passing Reno, we came upon an incredible outpouring of dirty brown water. A water main had just broken, between Reno and 35th, and water was forcing its way up through a manhole and even the roadway itself, where the street had buckled in two places. DC fire arrived on the scene a few minutes later and WASA was en route.”

On Sunday morning Alert DC reported: “DC Water reports the emergency repairs have been completed and water has been restored to the affected customers outage in the 3200-3400 blocks of Woodley Road NW and the 3100-3200 blocks of 33rd Place NW.”

Thankfully it’s been fixed now but have to share this wild video of the break too: (more…)


Thanks to all who messaged us. Fingers crossed for a 3pm restoration. You can view the pepco power outage map here.

Update from Alert DC:

“PEPCO reports the power outage has spread to the following neighbor hoods in addition to Lanier Heights: Mount Pleasant, Park View, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Cardoza, and Kalorama. There are approximately 2277 customers affected with an estimated restoration time of 2:00 PM.”

Update #2: “PEPCO has updated their reported outages to be only Mount Pleasant with 419 customers affected and Adams Morgan with 272 customers affected. There is an estimated restoration time of 5:00 PM.”

Update #3: “PEPCO has updated their reported outages to be only the Adams Morgan area with 272 customers affected. There is an estimated restoration time of 5:00 PM.”



Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering whether anyone has had success applying for DC Water’s LPRAP – Lead Pipe Replacement Assistance Program – which went into effect in October?  I submitted paperwork back in mid-October but it seems to have gone into a black hole.  If folks have had their application successfully submitted can they provide the name of the contractor they used and how much the whole project cost?  The name of the contractor is particularly useful because the process does require a certain amount of paperwork on their end as well, which is not something every contractor is willing to do.”



Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

From DC Water:

“All customers in the previous impact area of the boil water advisory can use tap water for all purposes after following the guidance provided below. Customers not affected by the boil water advisory can continue normal water use.

DC Water issued the boil water advisory as a conservative measure to protect public health, and we sincerely appreciate our customers’ patience while we took necessary precautions to deliver water to our customers. (more…)



Starbucks, Wisconsin Ave, Cathedral Heights. Thanks to Eric for sending.

From DC Water:

“The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) continues to advise customers to not drink or cook with their water without boiling it first if they are in the defined impact area.

Customers should visit the interactive map at dcwater.com or call the 24-Hour Command Center at (202) 612-3400 to determine if they are in the current impact area.

Customers not located in the impacted area do not need to boil water and can continue normal water use.

Customers in the impact area should: (more…)


From DC Water via twitter:

Out of of caution, if you reside in the impact area, we advise you to boil your water for 1 minute before drinking or cooking.

From DC Water:

“The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) advises customers to not drink or cook with their water without boiling it first if they are in the defined impact area.

Customers should visit the interactive map at dcwater.com or call the 24-Hour Command Center at (202) 612-3400 to determine if they are in the current impact area. The impact area will be refined as more information is collected.

Customers not located in the impacted area do not need to boil water and can continue normal water use.

Customers in the impact area should: (more…)


Thanks to Christina (and everyone else) for sending:

“1414 17th St NW (Brunswick House) residents and neighboring buildings were evacuated at 4:30AM due to underground explosions. A loud bang (presumably a manhole cover blowing off) that shook the building woke up residents, followed by fire alarms and lights flickering. The police were keeping residents on P street and discouraged anyone from standing close to any manholes in the area. We were allowed to re-enter the building around 5AM, although there is no electricity.” (more…)


View More Stories