STATENVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) – More than 350 people experienced interruptions in water service after a water main serving Statenville burst twice within two weeks.
The unincorporated south Georgia community first lost water nine days ago while the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) was working near Statenville Highway 11, said Kevin Tomlinson, chairman of the Echols County Water Board. Following work by the Echols County Water Board and GDOT, water was restored in Statenville on May 24.
Tomlinson said 363 customers in the area have water again, but are still under a boil water advisory until the Echols County Water Department completes safety testing.
But further construction issues caused the main to burst again on Wednesday, according to GDOT and the Echols County Water Commissioner. The county water department hired two contractors to assist employees with the restoration effort, and water was restored to Statenville residents the next day, according to the Echols County Emergency Management Agency.
But things aren't back to normal yet. South Georgia residents are still required to boil their water until the water department can complete safety inspections, according to the Echols County Sheriff's Office. County officials expect the boil advisory to last three to five days.
The issues have left Statenville residents unable to carry out normal daily activities, including bathing, cooking and drinking water. The service outages have sparked debate and frustration among Echols County residents and leaders, with many taking to social media to vent their frustrations and ask who should be held responsible.
To minimize the impact, Echols County Emergency Management has teamed up with Second Harvest to deliver bottled water to the South Georgia area, according to the agency's Facebook account. On Thursday, the agency posted that it was making large water tankers available for those affected by the outage. Georgia Foresti has also offered to provide well water and water tanks to Statenville residents, according to the Echols County Sheriff's Office.
Follow WCTV to stay on top of the latest news. Facebook and X (twitter).
Have a news tip or spotted an error that needs fixing? Email us herePlease include the article headline in your message.
Stay up to date on all the major news stories with the WCTV News App. Click here Download now.
Copyright 2024 WCTV. All rights reserved.
