DeKalb crews fix water main break that caused school closures

Water spilled into the residential area around the 800 block of McClendon Drive throughout Friday morning. Watershed Management crews were able to isolate the break and stopped the flow of water.

But by late afternoon, crews worked to remove a large tree at the site of the break that was impeding their effort to make the repairs, county officials said in a statement.

A pallet of bottled water was available near the intersection of McLendon Drive and North Avenue for customers affected by the break as of 1:40 p.m.

Credit: John Spink

Credit: John Spink

City Schools of Decatur, which has about 5,500 students, closed all schools and offices Friday and notified families that the repairs were expected to take at least five hours. Most Decatur schools had no or low water pressure, the small school system stated. And officials expect the pressure would decrease “due to the magnitude of the water main break.”

Some children were already at school when the issue occurred, and district officials urged parents to pick up their children as soon as possible. After-school activities and athletics were also canceled.

Students and staff at five schools in the larger DeKalb County School District were relocated to other schools while the break was being fixed, district officials said. Avondale Elementary, DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts, DeKalb School of the Arts, McClendon Elementary and Robert Shaw Elementary have sent out communications advising parents of the relocation. Students will receive lunches at the accommodating schools.

Credit: John Spink

Credit: John Spink

Amber Dixon, whose children are in kindergarten and fifth grade at McClendon Elementary in the DeKalb County School District, was picking her children up from the school on Friday morning. The school had no running water, she said.

“I’m sure they’re dealing with a lot,” she said. “There’s obviously parents who don’t have any other options.”

In her neighborhood near the school, Dixon said some people were trapped inside their homes because of the water outside their homes.

Emory University alerted students Friday morning that the water main issue may result in “some slight discoloration to the water” because of sediment in the line. “The campus water supply remains safe to drink and use,” Emory police said in a post on X. An Emory spokeswoman said the university hasn’t seen any issues associated with the water main break.

— Staff writer Vanessa McCray contributed to this article.