DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County Department of Watershed has issued a boil water advisory after a water main break on Clairmont Road.
The advisory is for the mapped areas east of Moreland Avenue, west of Candler Street/Clairemont Avenue, south of Mason Mill, and north of Hosea Williams.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As of early Wednesday, workers are still at the site repairing the break. The water main break caused a hole to form in Clairmont Road.
“I want to be very clear that this water main break is the result of two things. These pipes were installed in 1941 and of course, due to inclement weather and freezing temperatures,” DeKalb CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.
Cochran-Johnson and DeKalb Watershed Director David Hayes gave an update Wednesday morning on the repair timeline.
Cochran-Johnson says that crews from Charlotte, N.C. and Birmingham, Ala. are on their way to help with the pipes.
“Each will then take one of the separate sides and will go inline and cap off the water. Once that happens, we will then be able to replace and cap the pipes that are in ground. We are ready. It’s our intent to rectify the situation as quickly as possible,” she said.
Hayes said that he is optimistic that water will be back to normal by Wednesday afternoon.
“Once the crews come on site, their process is going to take around 2-3 hours. From there to repair the pipe will take about another hour and half, two hours. So we are very optimistic to have the water restored and back to normal somewhere around 2 o’clock this afternoon.”
TRENDING STORIES:
- Fight leads to man being shot, killed at DeKalb County gas station
- Suspect arrested hours after north GA woman found stabbed to death
- 2 charged with giving children too much medicine at metro Atlanta home daycare
The boil water advisory won’t be lifted though until further testing is done after water is completely restored back to normal.
The county will be handing out free bottled water at Fire Station 1 at 1670 Clifton Road; Fire Station 3 at 24 N. Clarendon Ave; Fire Station 7 at 1712 Columbia Drive; Fire Station 9 at 3858 N. Druid Hills Road; Fire Station 20 at 2919 Warren Road; and RaceTrac at 3630 Clairmont Road.
When a boil water advisory is issued, there are certain things that you need to know.
Here is what to do during a boil water advisory
- Drink bottled water if possible.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables with boiled or bottled water.
- Use boiled or bottled water when mixing with baby formula.
- Laundry can be done as usual, but dishwashers need to be on the hot setting.
- You can flush your toilets normally.
- Use hand sanitizer, bottled water, or water that has been boiled 1-3 minutes. Be sure boiled water has been cooled before use.
Here is what not to do during a boil water advisory
- Do not use tap water for hand washing.
- Do not use ice from ice trays, ice dispensers, or ice makers.
- Do not brush your teeth with tap water.
- Do not swallow water while bathing or showering.
- Do not feed your pets tap water.
- Do not rely on water filters because they do not typically remove bacteria.
- Do not use tap water if you have open wounds, blisters, sores, a weakened immune system, or a chronic illness. Instead use boiled cooled water, or bottled water for bathing, skin cleansing, and shaving.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]