UPDATE: Macon Water Authority lifts boil water advisory

UPDATE: The Macon Water Authority (MWA) has lifted the Boil Water Advisory issued April 30 for customers in the South Macon area, which was the result of a 24-inch water main break. Here’s more:

“The portion of the 24-inch main that encountered the break was isolated, and water was restored to customers in South Macon from other water mains in our water distribution system. Please be advised that your water pressure may remain lower than usual until the 24-inch main can be accessed and repaired.

The MWA has received the results of the laboratory tests from the water quality samples taken from the South Macon area, and they have confirmed that your water is safe to drink. All samples collected have tested negative for any type of contaminants in the drinking water. Therefore, the Boil Water Advisory is lifted for the South Macon Area as of 2:17 pm.

The MWA apologizes for any inconvenience this Boil Water Advisory may have caused you and your family, but your health and safety are our top priorities.

For more information on water quality, please contact MWA Water Treatment Operations at 478-464-5656.”

ORIGINAL: Some Macon residents will have to boil their water after a water main break early Thursday morning.

The Macon Water Authority issued a boil water advisory as a precaution for customers in southwest Macon after the water main break. There is a lower than normal water pressure for those residents east of I-75 and south and southeast of the I-475 and I-75 interchange.

The break was initially thought to be on Jones Road on the southern end of the county, but that did not pan out, said Ray Shell, executive vice president for field and plant operations for the MWA.

Crews were next investigating along Ga. 247 in the vicinity of where Georgia Department of Transportation is working on multiple bridges for the water main break, Shell said.

The portion of the 24-inch main that encountered the break has since been isolated, and water was being restored to impacted customers from other water mains in the water distribution system by mid-afternoon.

Heavy rainfall overnight made the search for the water main break difficult, Shell said.

“It’s hard to see the water that would be coming out of the ground. If it’s covered with water on the top, we’re not seeing that. Generally, when you have a main break, somebody will call it in because they’ve seen the water coming up. We don’t have that here because of all this rain,” Shell said.

Areas affected in addition to Jones Road include:

▪ Goodall Mill Road

▪ Sardis Church Road to Walden Road

▪ Allen Road

▪ Houston Road from Sardis Church Rd to Walden Road

▪ Walden Road

▪ School Road

▪ Houston Road between Jones Road and Hartley Bridge Road

▪ Griffin Road

For more on this story, come back later to macon.com.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 8:45 AM.