A water main break at Greer CPW’s water treatment site near Lake Cunningham caused almost 20,000 residents to lose water overnight and have a boil water advisory before drinking or cooking in effect until at least Tuesday evening.
Residents are advised to boil water for at least two minutes.
Millions of gallons of spilled water created, “A mess out there,” Matthew Brady, spokesman for Greer Commission of Public Works, said. “This is water right from our treatment plant.”
CPW and Blue Ridge Water serve the affected areas. CPW’s advisory is for mostly the western part of Greer that travels as far south as across I-85. Blue Ridge Water serves northern Greer along Highway 14.
Some residents have low pressure while others have no water.
According to the Greenville County School district, schools without water due to the water main break, are Skyland Elementary, Blue Ridge Middle, Blue Ridge High, Riverside High, Riverside Middle, Woodland Elementary and Abner Creek Elementary.
The voluntary advisory issued by Greenville County Schools for Greer High, Greer Middle, Chandler Creek Elementary, Crestview Elementary, Bonds Career Center and Dunbar Child Development Center has been lifted.
Bottled water and lunch was brought to students, hand sanitizer and portable toilets, according to Susan Clarke, spokesperson for Greenville County Schools. Schools will continue on a normal schedule again Tuesday.
Water fountains have been turned off and students have been instructed not to wash their hands but to use the provided hand sanitizers instead.
“We had a major water main break in the wee hours of the morning that drained millions of gallons of water from two-story high water tanks,” Brady said.
“We’ve pinpointed and isolated the leak, notified our customers (website and social media), and are now getting it fixed while building the pressure back to fill the tanks.”
Crews will flush out the tanks and get water pressure back to normal before taking a sample to conduct a bacterial test, Brady said.
Officials have not yet determined what caused the break but have stopped the leak, Brady said. “We appreciate everyone's patience while we get this thing back working,” he said.
• John Clayton contributed to this report.
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