DC Water fixes long-running water leak in Wesley Heights

DC Water today shut down a portion of New Mexico Ave NW to repair a water leak that has irritated Wesley Heights residents for nearly two years.

Residents say they are relieved that DC Water finally fixed the persistent water leak, which festered just outside the entrance to Sutton Towers, a condominium complex not far from the American University campus.

Jeanette Stavely, assistant building manager at Sutton Towers, said she is excited that the repair finally happened. She said she was concerned for residents especially with the colder temperatures underway.

“It is affecting our community because it is our community that is walking their dogs and walking their kids to school. And we do have a lot of elderly people, and we worry about them,” Stavely said.

Chris Doheny, another Sutton Towers assistant building manager, agreed that the water leak was causing safety issues and that it needed to be repaired.

DC Water completed the repairs days after The Wash published article highlighting the leak.

Both Stavely and Doheny said the article was likely the reason DC Water finally came out to work on the water leak, putting the utility in a spotlight it did not want. Doheny said he had been calling DC Water on a weekly basis and never heard anything.

In a written statement to The Wash, DC Water said several crews have inspected the water leak over time to determine what the cause was.

“Earlier inspections were unable to determine whether the source was groundwater or coming from our water lines, as no infrastructure failure or leak was found,” DC Water said.

During investigations yesterday, the utility said it was finally able to confirm the source of the leak and scheduled the repair for the next day.

One of the workers at the water leak who asked to remain anonymous told The Wash that the leak was an easy fix.

Stavely confirmed that the water leak is now fixed.

Locals are relieved that something has finally happened to address the issue.

Raysa Amador, a frequent walker in the area, said she is happy something has been done.

“I love the idea. It was an eyesore,” Amador said.

Adrian Varallayay, who frequently walks his dog Gustav on New Mexico Avenue, said he is relieved. Varallayay said that the leak would freeze over and become very dangerous. Varallayay also said that he would have trouble keeping his dog out of the mess.

“It was always kind of gross. I always try to pull [Gustav] away because there was algae and all sorts of other weird stuff growing on it,” Varallayay said.