Water service restored following main line break in DeKalb County
DeKalb County water main break relocates students
DeKalb County watershed crews repaired a broken six-inch water main along Columbia Woods Drive that forced students at nearby Columbia Elementary School to relocate for the day.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Students at Columbia Elementary School in Decatur were temporarily relocated Tuesday after the school lost water service, according to the DeKalb County School District.
The district said the students were moved to nearby schools as a precaution.
Where students were relocated
What we know:
Pre-K through second-grade students and those in self-contained Exceptional Education classes were taken to Snapfinger Elementary School.
Students in third through fifth grades were relocated to Columbia High School.
Lunch was provided at the temporary locations. All students returned to Columbia Elementary School for their regular dismissal.
No water
What they're saying:
DeKalb County officials said the outage was caused by a broken 6-inch water main at 3172 Columbia Woods Drive. Watershed Management crews have since repaired the line and service has been restored.
Homeowner Summer Bush recorded running water rushing down her front yard. She said the break happened at about 9 a.m., Tuesday.
She said some of the water entered her home's den while the rest ran off into a nearby creek.
Other neighbors, like Kris Lavoie, said they woke up to no running water.
"[My neighbor is] like, 'Do you have water? Because I know I paid my bills,'" Lavoie remembered about a conversation she had with her neighbor. "'Like I did, I did, too,' so this is a surprise."
Crews were also seen using a fire hydrant to flush the line in the afternoon as they completed repairs to the water main.
"That's the one thing I've always been afraid of because I know most of the neighborhood, we have to eventually replace our service lines," Lavoie said. "That's the one thing I'm going to be afraid of because I've already had to replace just about everything in this house."
Lavoie, who works as a hairstylist up the road from the break, said a prolonged outage could affect her business.
Neighbors said the water pressure began to return at about 3 p.m. County officials said right now they do not intend to issue a boil water advisory for the area due to the break.
"Customers in the affected area may experience brown water and are encouraged to run the faucets inside and outside their homes/businesses to clear the internal plumbing," officials said in a news release.
What we don't know:
The district did not immediately provide information about what caused the water outage or when service is expected to be restored.
Statement from officials
The backstory:
DeKalb County officials said the outage was caused by a broken 6-inch water main at 3172 Columbia Woods Drive. Watershed Management crews are repairing the line, and nearby customers may experience service interruptions.
Service has since been restored.