That river of muddy water streaming across LaVista Road near Briarlake Elementary Thursday was the result of a water line break causing low pressure for nearby residents.

A DeKalb County crew worked for hours in shoulder-deep water Thursday afternoon to repair a break in a 6-inch residental water line on Chesterfield Drive at LaVista. DeKalb spokeswoman Sarah Page said repairs are expected to be completed this evening. Page said the break affected, at most, a few dozen homes on Chesterfield and a neighboring street.

Residents are not required to boil their water, she said.

Dekalb County struggles with such breaks regularly as it deals with its aging water infrastructure.

A week ago, a water line break in north DeKalb closed part of Buford Highway for portions of two days while it was repaired. And earlier this month, a break in a 36-inch line flooded streets and homes in Decatur, knocking out water to the city schools and creating a sinkhole on the roadway.

In 2015, the entire county was on a boil-water alert for days when a contractor broke through a 48-inch main in Tucker.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Workers at the Atlanta Community Food Bank distribution center are seen uploading food into multiple aisles on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. The organization is utilizing $5 million from its reserves to purchase 6 million pounds of food for distribution over the next four weeks. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com