(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) Streets have reopened near Stanton Park on Capitol Hill after a water main break closed a portion of 4th Street NE this morning.
The break at the intersection of 4th and C streets NE closed 4th Street between Massachusetts and Maryland avenues NE.
DC Water is still working to repair the break, which a spokesperson said usually takes 6-8 hours.
Southwest Church to Give Away 130 Christmas Trees This Weekend — St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church at 222 M St. SW will give away Christmas trees at the site of their future church building this Saturday. Reserve a tree by emailing [email protected] or call 202-484-3189. [Southwester]
D.C. Water to Start Work on New Navy Yard Headquarters Within Months — Construction is set to begin on D.C. Water’s new eco-friendly headquarters in Navy Yard in the next few months, and builders have released more design renderings. [Washington Business Journal]
H Street NE Bar to Hold Bottomless Booze Fundraiser — The Pug bar at 1234 H St. NE will hold a fundraiser tonight from 9 to 11. A $20 donation to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors will earn two hours of endless Strohs beer. [PoPville]
H Street Restaurant Sally’s Middle Name Starts Fried Chicken Wednesdays — Yesterday was the first fried chicken Wednesday at Sally’s Middle Name at 1320 H St. NE. Every Wednesday the restaurant will include a fried chicken dinner special along with a scaled-down version of its usual menu. [Frozen Tropics]
Chicago-Style Pizza Popping Up at Capitol Hill Restaurant — Capitol Lounge on Capitol Hill will host a pop-up of Vin & Vic’s, a Chicago-style pizza maker, on Jan. 8. [Washington Post]
A Southwest water treatment facility is opening its doors to the public this Halloween to show off what they’ve been working on.
Fair warning: things could get stinky.
DC Water is hosting Halloween tours of the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (5000 Overlook Ave. SW) next week. Guests will have the opportunity to see how the facility is cutting its carbon footprint and reducing energy bills by treating sewage and turning it into electricity.
In other words, it’s turning poop into power, and DC Water wants to show it off with what they’re calling the “no. 2 tour.”
Spots are filling up fast for our #no2 tour. Hope you can join us! http://t.co/iUSjbx4vMa pic.twitter.com/A5nAE1un25
— DC Water (@dcwater) October 16, 2015
The Blue Plains plant is the largest of its kind in the world and has earned an international reputation for its innovations for treatment procedures, according to the company.
Tours will depart at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Groups of up to four people can reserve their spots online for tours that last approximately 90 minutes.
The tours will take guests through the treatment process. To get in the spirit of the holiday, guides will also discuss the “monsters” in the plant that are too small to see, like the so-called “water bears” and “muffin monsters,” nicknames for different types of bacteria that are common in the sewage-treatment plant.
Visitors should also prepare their nostrils to take a sniff of their treatment mixture and complete the experience.
For safety, guests are asked to wear long pants and closed-toe shoes.
Photo via Facebook/ DC Water
Man Charged in Fatal Stabbing at NoMa Metro Station Ruled Competent for Trial — Jasper Spires, the 18-year-old charged in the July 4 fatal stabbing of a Metro passenger at the NoMa-Gallaudet University station, was determined to be mentally competent to stand trial. [Washington Post]
Hill East Eatery Curbside Cafe to Close, Pretzel Bakery to Expand — Curbside Cafe at 257 15th St. SE will close at the end of the month and nearby bakery The Pretzel Bakery will move into the space, allowing it to have sit-down dining indoors. [Capitol Hill Corner]
Restaurateur Robert Wiedmaier Walks Away from The Wharf — Robert Wiedmaier, the owner and operator of 11 area restaurants who was in talks to open a restaurant at The Wharf, has pulled out of talks to open at the Southwest development. [Washington Business Journal]
New Renderings Show D.C. Water’s Planned Southwest Headquarters in Detail — Ahead of an Oct. 26 Zoning Commission hearing, D.C. Water has released additional renderings of its curvy, green-glass headquarters planned for Southwest. [JD Land]
Southwest Residents Resist Shakespeare Theatre’s New HQ — Worrying about the influx of development in their neighborhood, a group of Southwest residents are rallying against the Shakespeare Theatre Co.’s plan to build a new headquarters at 501 I St. SW. [Washington City Paper]
A Closer Look at the Capitol Hill ‘Crime Wave’ — Violent crime and property crime are up this year in Capitol Hill and the rest of D.C. But it might be too early to call it a full-scale crime wave. [The Hill Is Home]
D.C. Water Releases Plans for New Headquarters Near Nationals Park — D.C. Water has put out new renderings of a curvy, glass and aluminum building it plans to build along the Anacostia River in Navy Yard. [Washington Business Journal]
Developer Looks to Build Seven-Screen Cinema in NoMa — NoMa may get a seven-screen movie theater as part of a new development, according to documents filed today with the D.C. government. [Hill Now]
D.C. Water says the broken water main on 8th Street SE has been fixed, but the Thai restaurant The Old Siam is still coping with damage.
The basement of the 406 8th St. SE restaurant was inundated with two feet of water because of the water main break Christmas Eve morning, manager Nikkie Likitvanichkul said today (Monday). The flooding broke the heater for the entire building, and forced the restaurant to close for most of Wednesday.
“We probably lost a lot of business,” Likitvanichkul said as crews worked again this morning — just feet from The Old Siam’s front door — to repair the 12-inch pipe that flooded Barracks Row.
The Old Siam is open today but on Wednesday had to stay closed until 5 p.m. They usually open at 11:30 a.m. The Thai and sushi restaurant was able to operate for three hours before they were forced to close again.
The restaurant doesn’t yet know how much damage was done and is awaiting an insurance assessment, Likitvanichkul said.
(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) A water main break has closed a stretch of Barracks Row again, for the second time in less than a week.
Eighth Street SE is closed to traffic between D and E SE. The affected block is home to Starbucks, The Sweet Lobby, Chipotle and Capitol Hill Tandoor & Grill. Those businesses were open and had water service as of 12:30 p.m. today (Monday).
Additional repairs were needed on the same 12-inch water main that flooded the same block early Wednesday morning, a D.C. Water spokeswoman said. The water main work was complete by early this afternoon, but the the road closure remained in effect for “related utility work.” All water service has reportedly been restored.
Eighth Street SE should be able to be reopened by about 6 p.m. today, the D.C. Water spokeswoman said. In the meantime, buses are being rerouted.
(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) Crews are on the scene of a water main break on Barracks Row.
A 12 inch water main burst under 8th Street SE, near the Starbucks, early Wednesday morning. DC Water crews were able to shut off the flow of water — which turned the road into a river — by 6:30 a.m.
While repairs continue, 25 businesses in the area — mostly restaurants — are without water. DC Water hopes to have the water main fixed by tonight.
“We will need to excavate, shore up the excavation site and make water main repairs,” said DC Water spokeswoman Pamela Mooring. “There is also road, sidewalk and curb damage. We will make temporary road repairs once the main repairs are complete.”
A helpful piece of advice from the Barracks Row Main Street Twitter account:
Be mindful of traffic closures due to water break. Visit one of our businesses once it clears out though! Maybe you can ice skate here…
— Barracks Row Main St (@BarracksRow) December 24, 2014
Video via WJLA
In a bit of infrastructure tradition, D.C. Water will hold a ceremony tomorrow to officially name a machine that will dig a giant tunnel along the Anacostia River.
The new tunnel-boring machine that weighs about as much as six 747 airplanes will dig a 26-foot wide tunnel to reduce the amount of sewer overflow that pumps into the river.
“Tunnel boring machines get christened the way boats do,” D.C. Water spokeswoman Pamela Mooring explained. “We’ll smash a bottle of D.C. tap water on it.”
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, will say a blessing for the men and women working on the project. The 1,248-ton machine will then be lowered 100 feet underground.
The tunnel, which is part of D.C Water’s Clean Rivers Project, will hold excess sewage and rainwater before it is processed. This tunnel will connect to a tunnel dug by “Lady Bird,” a similar boring machine (pictured above).
The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow (Friday) near Barney Circle at 17th Street SE. For more information, contact [email protected].
Photo courtesy of D.C . Water
