Atlanta

Several water main breaks leave thousands without water across city

ATLANTA — Crews have worked on at least 16 water main breaks in the last 48 hours that may be related to the cold weather.

One pipe ruptured near Phipps Plaza in Buckhead and left thousands of people without water.

Watermain break near Phipps Plaza 

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls was with crews as they made repairs to another on Pelham Drive in northeast Atlanta.

Walls was there when workers found the culprit behind the flowing water -- a broken six-inch water main.

Cold weather is definitely a suspect in the break in the Morningside neighborhood, where water was restored Thursday afternoon.

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Twenty-five neighbors in Morningside were without water for about 12 hours as crews made the necessary repairs -- an inconvenience to longtime resident Ronald Cook

“I just went to fix lunch, turned on the faucet and no water was coming up so I headed out the door to see what was going on,” he said.

Neighbors said the water began flowing around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Darren Boykin, Director of Technical Services for the Watershed Department, told Walls that broken pipes in the cold weather aren't uncommon but certainly a problem.

“We average about four to five a day, that’s standard. When we see these frigid temperatures, we see about a dozen or so a day,” Boykin said.

To prevent freezing from the 16-inch broken water main on Phipps Boulevard, Watershed crews put down sand and gravel Thursday morning.

Seven water hydrants that were connected to the main between Lenox Road and Wieuca Road were left without water, leaving Walls to question what happens if there’s a fire.

“If there’s a fire nearby we’ve notified the emergency services personnel and the mayor’s office for emergency responsiveness to make them aware of the situation and we’ll be following our risk management protocols,” Boykin said.

Cox Media Group

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