WASHINGTON — Montgomery County readers looking forward to the reopening of a refurbished Little Falls Library will have to wait a little longer after a pipe burst under the building.

Once upon a time, lying quietly under the sleeping books in the Little Falls Library was a pipe monster that tried to drown them.

Enter the story’s hero.

“Fortunately, we got in there and we managed to stop the flow before it rose to the level of the  lower shelves with the books,” said David Dise, the director of Montgomery County’s General services department.

When his crews were able to subdue the angry 4-inch cast iron pipeline, it left nearly 8 inches of water in the basement.

They were checking the fire and sprinkler system when the pipe burst. Dise said it’s too early to determine the cost of the damage done, but the new carpet laid in the basement has to be torn up and redone, he said. There was also damage to the library’s new elevator’s mechanical system.

“It set this library project back four to six months,” he said.

In the meantime, readers of all sizes can find their next book at the Bethesda location until Little Falls is ready to reopen. Bethesda was set for a refresh, as the library system calls it, in March. But that has been delayed so there are resources available for Montgomery County’s avid readers.

“Instead of spending money on new buildings, we are reading it around to existing libraries. A refresh includes: new carpeting, shelving, furniture, rearranging things and even going in and putting in elevators,” Dise said.