UPDATE 3:30 WSSC crews have found a leak in a water main that may be contributing to standing water in a wooded area off Jones Mill Road in Chevy Chase.
It’s unclear how much of the water is from the leak or from melting snow, but this afternoon WSSC said there appears to be a leak in the 54-inch water main near 3217 Coquelin Terrace.
A press release this afternoon said the leak was at first thought to be in a relief valve, but WSSC crews have confirmed the leak was in the transmission main itself. There is no need for mandatory water restrictions, according to the release.
The main is connected to the 60-inch line that broke last Monday at Chevy Chase Lake Drive and Connecticut Avenue, but WSSC spokesman I.J. Hudson said it’s too early to know if the leak is in any way connected to last week’s event. The leak occurred 1.2 miles east of the Connecticut Avenue break, Hudson said.
No customers are without water service and no roads or traffic patterns have been affected by the leak. WSSC crews are using Jones Mill Road Neighborhood Park as an access point to the woods.
WSSC says a resident reported seeing water on the ground in the wooded area near the 3200 block of Coquelin Terrace on Monday.
The press release this afternoon said the main does have the acoustic fiber optic monitoring system that did not warn the WSSC in time to prevent last Monday’s main break. But the monitoring system is designed to detect the snapping of steel wires embedded in the pipe and not leaks.
