Water main break yesterday closes TPMS

Early yesterday morning, there was a water main break at the intersection of Piney Branch Road and Sligo Avenue, according to Takoma Park Middle School (TPMS) principal Renay Johnson. The break, which occurred near TPMS, forced the school to shut down at 10 a.m.

The TPMS magnet students were then taken to Blair via shuttle buses. Because of shared bus routes, Blair students were dismissed early - 12 p.m. for the local buses and 12:15 p.m. for magnet buses - in order to get the middle school students home.

The Office of School performance (OSP) decided to shut down TPMS after the break site was evaluated and workers determined that it would take 4-6 hours to fix. "In that case, you can't make lunch for the students because there's no water and you can't use the toilets because they won't flush, and it becomes a health and sanitary issue," Johnson said.

The water was restored to TPMS later yesterday, but the school had to run the taps continuously to ensure cleanliness. "When the water's been off for a while, and then you turn it back on, two things happen: it sprays everywhere and it comes out dark and murky," Johnson said. By this afternoon, the water in the school is back to normal, yet several TPMS students who live nearby still don't have water, she said.