Written by Clair Garman
In February 2005 Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) commenced repairs to the sewer line along a section of Takoma Branch at Red Top Road and downstream.
WSSC is lining three 18 inch stretches and one 8 inch stretch, repairing one manhole and stabilizing the stream in the vicinity of their infrastructure. They are fixing several other problems identified in the Stream Corridor Assessment (SCA) done by Masaya Maeda of the Anacostia Watershed Society. The cost of the project is about $290,000.
This photo was taken in June 2004 of a sewer line across Takoma Branch. The line was unsupported through much of its length rendering leakage likely.
In February 2004 WSSC diverted the creek and the sewage in order to reconstruct the creek bed with the re-installed sewer pipe. This photo was taken from the same place on the foot bridge at Red Top Road as the previous photo.
A side view of the re-constructed creek bed showing the foot bridge and Red Top Road.
The sewer pipe can be seen tucked among the rocks under the person’s left foot.
The sewer vent was opened to divert the sewer flow, providing a seldom seen view of sewage flow. This brick vent housing was on the right bank of the stream (facing downstream) at the place where the pipe crossing the creek meets the main pipe. We are facing the stream. The flow from the top of the photo comes from the pipe crossing the creek. The main sewage flow runs from left to right.
Work continues downstream from Red Top Road. Rock and machinery are waiting for the crews to continue work. It is intended that this series of photos will continue to document the WSSC work along Takoma Branch.
The red dot marks the foot bridge at Red Top Road and Takoma Branch where the work has been completed by WSSC.
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