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

A teenager was indicted in the deadly shooting on campus at Albany State University in 2024.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Featured

In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC