MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The boil water advisory that had been in effect since the water main broke on West Montgomery Street and North Columbia in Milledgeville last Thursday was lifted Wednesday evening.
Crews fixed the break Friday. However, it burst again.
Megan Koch, her partner, and 10-month-old baby live just down the street from the main water break on West Montgomery Street. She says her apartment has had no water for the past week.
"There's no water in the toilet, there's no water to wash dishes, no water to drink,” she explains.
Koch says she and her family moved here less than a month ago. Her neighbor told her that these water outages only last a day at most, but this is the longest it’s ever been. Now, Koch says she can't cook, shower, or even clean her baby's bottles. She's been going to restaurants to do that.
"Plates and cups and bowls just molding in the sink without any way to take care of it," she said. "I've had to go out and spend well over $300 just to accommodate. We’re probably going to have a hard time making rent this month just for how much we’ve spent."
Koch says she's been collecting rainwater in jugs just to flush her toilets. She says she knows some of it is out of the city's hands.
"(I am) very frustrated with the fact that I kept calling the department every day. You know, they just told me, 'Well, there's nothing we can do about it at the time. They're working and working and working,’ and I haven't seen a crew out there in five days,” she said.
City Manager Hank Griffeth says the main burst a second time on Friday, delaying repairs.
"We're having to cut through asphalt and concrete and dig and find the break, and that all takes time," Griffeth said.
Griffeth says it’s difficult to get started on repairs because the rain has been flooding the areas that need to be worked in. He says at least 50 households are affected. He says they’re offering folks a case of drinking water to take home in the meantime.
"We're actually making plans now to have water available in gallon jugs where people can come get it for being able to flush toilets and those kinds of things,” he says.
Griffeth said repairs started Wednesday and they were able to fix it late Wednesday.
"I'm sorry that it's causing people difficulties. I'm very much aware of that. I'm not discounting that, we're just working as fast as we can.”.
Griffeth says they've hired engineers to look at long-term improvements to the water system at their current water and sewer plants, but that's not the cause of the latest problems.