Sewage Leak at Falls Church School Unrelated to One in October

For the third time this year students at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School will be out of class because of a sewage leak.

In October, school was closed for a day as crews worked to repair the leak. The latest leak, detected on Tuesday after school was out, has kept students and teachers out of the school for two days.

Toni Jones, superintendent of Falls Church City Public Schools, said the two leaks are not related.

“The issue is unrelated,” she said Wednesday night. “The October issue dealt with a mechanical failure of a pump, which then caused a break in the line due to the pressure.  The issue today is still under review, but looks as though it’s a break in the line leading from the building to the parking lot.”

FCCPS is offering free daycare services for any parents who need it Thursday since school is closed.

School officials detected the latest sewage leak and subsequent sinkhole Tuesday around 4:30 p.m. and promptly closed school for Wednesday. The leak wasn’t repaired by Wednesday night, closing school for a second day. Jones said FCCPS officials will make frequent thorough checks on the system through out the year.

As the temperatures began to drop Wednesday night, crews continued to work feverishly to repair the sewage leak using an excavator, at times digging up gallons of raw sewage. Crews were uncertain of a timeline for when the repairs would be finalized but pledged to work until the job was done.

Jones said she is uncertain of a price tag for the repairs.

“It’s not uncommon for an issue of this nature to cost between $8,000 and $20,000,” Jones said. “A great deal depends on the equipment that must be mobilized, the length of the time it takes to fix the problem and the number of people and skill level required to make the repairs.”

Making sure the repairs hold is the next issue. Jones said FCCPS would do everything possible to have the lines checked. Jones is hopeful that since both issues at the school were unrelated it’s simply bad luck and not a pattern or trend. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not always an easy task to check lines running underneath the ground,” Jones said. “Cameras can detect small cracks and leaks, but the stress on a joint isn’t as easy to determine. In the past 18 months we have experienced an earthquake, storms and flooding. All of these issues can cause difficulties that are not detectable on the surface.”

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