Gwinnett County water main break repaired, roads reopened

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — For the second time in less than a week, a water main break shut down a metro Atlanta road.

A 12-inch water service line broke early Tuesday, blocking South Old Peachtree Road from South Berkeley Lake Road to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in the Norcross area.

“Approximately 40 customers are affected,” said Karen Shields, the spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources. “We are working to have water service restored around noon.”

Gwinnett police first reported the break at 6:30 a.m. on Twitter. The county updated around 4:30 p.m. and said the roadway has reopened.

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Most of the 44 employees at GoGreen waste management solutions were sent home due to the lack of water, warehouse worker Mark Hulsey said.

“None of my fire systems work,” he said. “It’s kind of a safety issue.”

Washington spoke with an employee at one of the affected businesses, and he said he believes this cold snap is to blame.

“I mean, it’s got to do with temperature,” Amouroux Rose Paving said. “The super structure in Atlanta, it’s aging and they need to relieve the surface water that comes off the streets into the sewers, and that’s really the biggest problem.”

A sinkhole opened up near the site of the water main break, police Cpl. Michele Pihera said.

“Avoid the area,” police said in a tweet.

Use North Berkeley Lake or Medlock Bridge Road as alternate routes, Triple Team Traffic tweeted.

The incident in Gwinnett comes six days after a massive break crippled DeKalb County's water system and disrupted a multitude of services. The county was under a boil water advisory until Friday.

Cox Media Group