It began in the middle of the night and was over by early afternoon. And for central Peachtree City residents who found themselves without water Thursday morning it was a timely reminder that many things in life are taken for granted all too often.

The break in a 4-foot length of a 6-inch PVC water line on Flat Creek Road near Ga. Highway 54 was found at approximately 2:30 a.m., eventually affecting an unknown number of homes. What is known, said Fayette Water System Assistant Director Russell Ray, is that sporadic outages were reported on the north and south sides of Hwy. 54 from Ga. Highway 74 to Robinson road.

“It was a small break that caused a large outage,” Ray said, noting that there were no boil-water recommendations in place due to the water line break.

The break, reported to department supervisors by the treatment plant around 2:30 a.m., occurred approximately 30 yards from the entrance to Ridgelake condominiums, across from Dover Square on Flat Creek Road, within sight of Peachtree City Hall.

Water department supervisors at the scene late Thursday morning said the break was easy to locate, as evidenced by the fountain of water spraying up from the berm adjacent to Ridgelake. The overflow cut a small creek through the fallen leaves of one townhome's back yard.

During the outage on the last day of school before Christmas break, Peachtree City Elementary School on Wisdom Road bused students to nearby Southland Nursing Home to use bathrooms. Peachtree City Elementary was the only school affected, according to Fayette County board of Education spokesperson Melinda Berry Dreisbach.

Ray said more PVC piping exists in the water system, adding that PVC pipe is no longer used. The water system had already begun substituting the stronger and more flexible ductil iron instead.

Reports of two separate breaks earlier in the morning were incorrect. Water service was out across Ga. Highway 54 in the Glenloch area, though that outage was due to the break on Flat Creek. Customers on Waterwood Bend on the east side of Lake Peachtree reported no water pressure, he said.

login to post comments