That river of muddy water streaming across LaVista Road near Briarlake Elementary Thursday was the result of a water line break causing low pressure for nearby residents.

A DeKalb County crew worked for hours in shoulder-deep water Thursday afternoon to repair a break in a 6-inch residental water line on Chesterfield Drive at LaVista. DeKalb spokeswoman Sarah Page said repairs are expected to be completed this evening. Page said the break affected, at most, a few dozen homes on Chesterfield and a neighboring street.

Residents are not required to boil their water, she said.

Dekalb County struggles with such breaks regularly as it deals with its aging water infrastructure.

A week ago, a water line break in north DeKalb closed part of Buford Highway for portions of two days while it was repaired. And earlier this month, a break in a 36-inch line flooded streets and homes in Decatur, knocking out water to the city schools and creating a sinkhole on the roadway.

In 2015, the entire county was on a boil-water alert for days when a contractor broke through a 48-inch main in Tucker.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Ayana Meriweather walks with her son and her siblings back to the Forest Cove apartments in Atlanta after the bus dropped the children off from Slater Elementary on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

The last Michelin Guide Awards ceremony took place at the Georgia World Congress Center on Monday, Oct 28, 2024.

Credit: Jenni Girtman