Water Creeps into Dark Occoquan

By URIAH KISER

UPDATE — Power back on in portions of Occoquan. Mayor Earnie Porta updates us: 

Power has been restored in Occoquan’s business district (i.e. north of Commerce Street). As of the time of this writing Dominion and their contractors are working on the power lines that pass adjacent to the Route 123 bridge, travel out of town, cross Route 123, and come back into town via Washington Street.

They have indicated that once repaired these lines should bring back online almost everyone else in Occoquan except those living on Poplar Lane.

The latter will be offline at least until tomorrow, as damage to two houses must first be addressed. Dominion and contractor crews are working throughout the evening.

ORIGINAL POST

OCCOQUAN, Va. — High tide tonight brought the Occoquan River over a portion of crumbled seawall and into the basement of a building and back a back alley.

Water rose from the river’s banks behind a set of shops at 309 Mill Street in Occoquan, Va. where the Occoquan River took a portion of seawall Monday night’s bashing from Superstorm Sandy.

Water seeped into the garage area underneath of an adjacent building. According to neighbors, the building’s owner had already moved what cars had been parked underneath to higher ground. All that was left behind was an unplugged generator, and a canoe that floated in and out of the garage.

The rest of the river quietly raged on about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday as high tide set in. The roar of water coming over a nearby dam upstream was the only sound that filling the darkness.

And it was dark, as power to the town and to the surrounding neighborhoods in Lake Ridge remained without electricity. The glow of Occoquan’s iconic sidewalk gaslights served as the only dim candles in the town.

Mayor Earnie Porta spent much of the day speaking with power crews from Dominion Virginia Power and told PotomacLocal.com power could be expected back on by 8 p.m. But when technicians made their initial repairs and threw the switch, nothing happened.

That’s usually a sign there is another, yet undiscovered problem with the power source, and that crews would remain working on restoring power.

More than just Occoquan, nearby portions Lake Ridge were also dark.

Police officers directed traffic at the intersection of Old Bridge and Minnieville roads while the traffic signal the neighborhood of homes and business on the westbound side of Old Bridge Road remained dark.

Those on the opposite side of the road, including the busy Tacketts Mill Shopping Center, were lit up and open for business.