Updated: Nov. 9, 2023, at 11:33 p.m.
Officials closed Gelman Library early Thursday due to a water outage after a leaky valve flooded parts of H Street and its neighboring roads with brown water.
Officials said in an email to community members that they would close the library at 5 p.m. DC Water spokesperson John Lisle said there was a leak on a six-inch water main on H Street between 21st and 22nd streets at approximately 2:30 p.m., which officials performed an “emergency shut” off to stop the flow of water to begin repairs.
Officials said in the email that they plan to reopen the library — usually open 24 hours per day — on Friday at 7 a.m. The message states individuals should check the library’s website for additional updates.
Lisle said the water leak affected the Gelman Library and five apartment buildings but didn’t know if any of the buildings were GW residence halls. He said the repair is estimated to take up to 10 hours from 2:30 p.m.
On the scene Thursday, water flooded down nearby roads, gushing down to the curb outside JBKO Hall on I Street.
This post was updated to correct the following:
Due to an editing error, a prior version of this post said the library would reopen on Wednesday at 7 a.m. It will open on Friday. We regret this error.
