Residents of an apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, woke up Thursday morning to their third day without water or air conditioning due to a broken water main.
The main main burst for the first time Tuesday morning at the London Park Towers property in the 5300 block of Duke Street, according to the Alexandria Office of Emergency Management.
Virginia American Water said the outage is due to breaks in the apartments’ private water service line. There are no other customers affected.
“Although it is not a Virginia American Water line, our team has been working to assist the homeowner as they make repairs and has offered to help provide an alternate source of drinking water,” Virginia American Water said.
There is electricity in the buildings, but residents say they are tired and frustrated. They have not been able to use running water to brush their teeth, wash clothes or shower since Tuesday morning.
A video shows desperate people using water from a fire hydrant to fill containers and buckets. A resident said that they used a garbage bag to have water for the kitchen and bathroom.
A resident who lives in the apartment complex with his wife and six children, two of whom have asthma, described the experience.
“We have been without air conditioning or water for three days. And today the management office has notified us that there is a school, near the school, in the surroundings, and that if someone needs to use the toilets or sleep with air conditioning, we can go there “, said.
“So technically it looks like we’re on a battlefield, you know, it’s not a normal culture, instead of sending us to hotels or trying to find solutions. No, we have to go to a school and spend the night there, that That’s what they said,” he added.
DASH buses have been provided from Paxton Street to the nearby Patrick Henry Recreation Center for residents to go to the bathroom.
Volunteers were on site providing bottled water from building management and Virginia American Water provided a reservoir with drinking water.
According to a note our sister network News 4 found outside the complex, the contractors do not know when the extensive underground repairs will be completed. Crews worked overnight Wednesday to repair the break, but no estimate has yet been given as to when the water supply will be restored.
NBC 44 has contacted the property manager for comment.
This is developing news. Stay with Telemundo 44 for more updates.
