Boil-Water Advisory Lifted In DeKalb

DECATUR, GA — Shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, a boil-water advisory that had been in place for more than two days in DeKalb County was lifted. The advisory had been put in place after a large water main broke early Wednesday.

"The March 7, 2018, 'boil water advisory' is hereby rescinded following the re-pressurization of the system and repair of the broken water main off Buford Highway," the county said in a news release. "The water system has been restored to full operation and the microbiological quality of the water in the distribution system is safe for human consumption."

The busted water main, which that caused water outages and low pressure throughout DeKalb County, was replaced earlier on Friday — about 24 hours ahead of schedule.

At about 8:30 a.m., DeKalb officials said the 48-inch pipe, near Buford Highway in Doraville, had been replaced. Water service had been restored to most places in the county by Friday morning, but county officials had wanted to see the results of water-safety tests before telling residents that all was back to normal.

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Meanwhile, schools, government offices and businesses that had shut down after the pipe broke Wednesday morning were back open, albeit with some changes. Restaurants in DeKalb on Friday were serving canned drinks and items like salads were still off the menu. Plasticware replaced regular dishes so they didn't have to be washed.

On Thursday, DeKalb County Emergency Management donated more than 72,000 bottles of water to county school campuses and three campuses of DeKalb Medical Center. Water samples for testing were drawn from 49 sites throughout the county and submitted to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for evaluation, according to officials.

The break happened before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday on a 48-inch transmission main near 5718 Buford Highway in Doraville, according to DeKalb County officials. The busy highway was flooded for much of the day as crews worked to find and stop the leak.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and other officials blamed some type of structural failure for the break. They said the water main is relatively new and age is not believed to be a factor in the break, but that an investigation will be conducted to find out exactly what happened.

Photo courtesy DeKalb County government