DeKalb County’s precautionary boil water advisory was lifted Monday night, authorities announced. Residents can resume normal water use.
More than 100 water samples were collected and analyzed Friday through Sunday, and all were negative for bacteria, the county said in a news release.
Many county residents lost water after a major leak involving a main water line on Thursday. Repairs were completed Sunday.
“As part of the county’s emergency response, sampling is conducted for both public safety assurance and to stay ahead of any regulatory requirements, following a decrease in water pressure to the system,” the county said via Twitter.
Meanwhile, the DeKalb County Police Department expects that its customer-service section for central records where residents can retrieve accident reports, incident reports and background checks will be back open for business Tuesday at 9 a.m.
The records service at headquarters on Exchange Place in Tucker was closed Monday after low water pressure stopped the air conditioning from cooling properly, Capt. Steve Fore said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main campus on Clifton Road was also closed Monday because of the water pressure woes that dogged much of DeKalb County over the weekend.
While Roybal campus was “closed to everyone but essential personnel,” the CDC’s other Atlanta-area offices were open. However, officials strongly encouraged employees at those offices to work from home.
A short distance from the CDC, the Atlanta VA Medical Center was open for normal operations, but because of the water main problems, staff was “encouraged to bring bottled water, coffee and tea for personal use,” according to spokesman Greg Kendall.
Here’s what you need to know about the water issues in DeKalb:
What broke and when and how did it break?
A county worker using heavy equipment hit a fire hydrant Thursday at the intersection Henderson Mill and Evans roads in the Tucker area, rupturing a 48-inch main transmission line. Officials thought they had solved the problem Saturday morning, but the patch they installed blew when pressure was restored to the pipe.
Complicating matters were gas, power and other utility lines in the area of the pipe, which is about 20 feet underground.
Who was affected?
The problem mostly affected the communities of Decatur, Avondale Estates, Druid Hills, Stone Mountain, Oakhurst and East Atlanta Village.
The repairs
The county's Department of Watershed Management reported Sunday the problems had been fixed, and the system was "now fully pressurizing."
No additional issues were reported.
Boil water advisory
A boil water advisory was issued, meaning citizens were cautioned to boil all water prior to use for drinking, cooking or preparing baby food. The water needed to be boiled for at least one minute after reaching a rolling boil.
Officials said water samples taken from 20 sites on Friday, 40 sites on Saturday and 50 on Sunday “all showed negative for bacteria.”
The advisory was lifted Monday night.
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