Douglas County faces water shortage, boil-water alert

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Douglas County faces a water shortage as broken water lines throughout the county have drained a number of towers throughout the county, an official said Monday morning.

Just before 6 a.m. county officials issued a "boil water" advisory because of multiple breaks in the system. By mid-morning, additional lines had broken, causing water towers and tanks to empty and making a water shortage a "distinct possibility," said Mike Patton, spokesman for the Douglasville-Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority.

More than 17 inches of rain has fallen on Douglas County since Sunday, Patton said. The heavy flooding has washed away a number of roads, taking out the water lines with it, he said.

Emergency workers are still trying to find all of the broken water lines while also trying to pump new water into the system, Patton said. Most of the lines are in low-lying areas covered with water, however, and workers are going to have to wait until the water recedes before trying to repair them.

The westbound lanes of I-20 in Douglas County were shut down overnight but had reopened by 4 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

The county opened its Emergency Operations Center just before 1 a.m., county spokesman Wes Tallon said.

"The storm continues over the top of Douglas County and more rain is coming," Tallon said at 5:30 a.m.

"The storm runoff is going at speeds higher than a person can walk through," he said.  "This is a dangerous situation and Douglas County residents are requested to stay home, if possible, until conditions improve. "

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.