On March 7th, a water main located near Buford Highway in Doraville burst, spilling water across the road, forcing its closure. According to WSB 24-Traffic Center, water has been flowing onto the highway in Doraville since before 4:30 AM.
Dekalb County released the following statement regarding the emergency:
“In an abundance of caution for our citizens and to protect the public from any potential health hazards, residents in the affected area are being asked to boil water for at least one minute after water comes to a rolling boil prior to drinking, cooking or preparing baby food.”
This is an emerging story and will be updated as more news comes in.
UPDATE:7:04 AM
DeKalb County Medical Center issued the following statement:
Via Facebook/DeKalb County Medical Center
DeKalb County Officials released in a statement that the DeKalb County fire department and police department are working with other agencies to address the issues and to fix the water main as soon as possible.
Rebekka Schramm, a reporter for CBS46 in Atlanta, said the following in a tweet:
If you live in DeKalb County near Buford Hwy. and have low water pressure, boil your water today and conserve. It's a 48-inch transmission main that broke. Could be a long day! @cbs46
— Rebekka Schramm (@SchrammCBS46) March 7, 2018
UPDATE: 7:57 A.M
Schools are now officially closed all day in the area, according to a Facebook post by the City Schools of Decatur Facebook page:
Via Facebook/ City Schools of Decatur
DeKalb County has opened an emergency operations center to coordinate efforts to address the water main break:
ATTN: The DeKalb County Emergency Operation Center is open to coordinate with agencies and departments while repairs are underway at the large water main break on Buford Highway.
— DeKalb County, GA (@ItsInDeKalb) March 7, 2018
UPDATE: 9:35 A.M
Workers have isolated the water main break and currently investigating the cause and assess the damage to the water system and restore pressure.
UPDATE: 9:47 A.M
DeKalb County residents have said on social media that they have been unable to wash their hands or use toilets at work.
UPDATE: 11:12 A.M
The Perimeter Mall, the DeKalb County Courthouse and all county government offices are officially closed until further notice, pending resolution of the water main break.
