Repairs Underway As Sewer Main Collapses Near School

GERMANTOWN, MD — Significant repairs were made by Friday after a sewer main collapsed near Germantown Elementary School, prompting closures in the area.

A sinkhole emerged in front of the school, near the intersection of Dawson Farm and Liberty Mill roads, just after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

An 8 a.m. Friday update from the WSSC Water utility said emergency crews working around the clock had installed piping for a 1,000-foot temporary bypass to divert wastewater from the site. "Bypass pumping expected to be operational later today," reads the release.

Officials said eight pumps are already on site and prepped for use once all necessary piping is installed.

Overnight work also saw Verizon crews relocate two utility poles as Washington Gas relocated a gas main.

WSSC said drinking water has not been impacted and that there is no wastewater leak. The utility explained wastewater is running through an "intact bottom section of the main."

For the duration of the repairs, Liberty Mill Road remains closed between Dawson Farm Road and Pepper Court.

A section of the sewer main previously broke in front of the elementary school in August 2024, when the utility says a contract was "already in place to replace and rehabilitate 1,708 feet of 30-inch sewer main and rehabilitate 18 manholes, which included this section of collapsed main."

The service was scheduled to start its sewer repairs project this summer, once school let out, but will now be starting in mid-April as a result of Thursday's collapse.

Officials estimate the rehabilitation project will be complete by next April.

Classes were canceled for Germantown Elementary School students on Thursday, prompting a four-day weekend since Friday was a non-instructional day.