Broken pipes causing water issues, boiled water advisory in Clayton County

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Clayton County is under a boil water advisory after residents in Forest Park reported having low water pressure.

Dangerously cold weather has caused issues with water supply, officials said. County officials said the advisory is in effect for residents with low pressure. 

Once water service is restored for customers without service, they will need to follow the boil water advisory. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FROZEN PIPES BREAK

"Our team is working to resolve the issue and restore service as quickly as possible. However, we do not have an estimate on when service will be restored," Clayton County Water Authority General Manager H. Bernard Franks said. "We understand the difficulty this causes not only during an extremely cold weather event, but also during the holiday."

Officials asked owners or managers of property that is either vacant or closed for the holidays to check on their plumbing or turn off the water if it's not necessary.

"We are finding there are warehouses, businesses, schools, and churches that have been closed due to the holiday that have broken pipes that have gone unreported," Franks said. "This results in major water loss for our system. If anyone owns or maintains a property that has been closed, we ask that they go to that property and check to make sure they do not have any broken pipes."

Morrow High School had flooding problems on Monday morning. A county spokesperson said Clayton County Public Schools’ maintenance staff checking all schools.

Water flooding Morrow High School froze on Dec. 26, 2022 after pipes burst due to days of temperatures below freezing.

Forest Park officials are passing out cases of bottled water on a first-come, first serve basis at the Forest Park Police Department headquarters at 320 Cash Memorial Boulevard. There will be other distribution sites open on Monday afternoon.

Each car will receive one case of water. 

"We are working to ensure that we are doing everything we can to help keep our residents safe during this unprecedented stretch of cold weather," said Mayor Angelyne Butler,

What to do during a boil water advisory

Properly treat water so it's safe to consume:

• Heat a pot of hot water until bubbles come quickly from the bottom of the pot to the top
• Keep heating the water for one more minute
• Turn off the heat source and let the water cool
• Pour water into a clean, sanitized container with a cover for storage

Cooled boiled water should be used for: drinking, brushing teeth, washing food, preparing baby formula, making ice and giving to pets.