3 Million Gallons Lost in Peachtree City Water Main Break

A major water main break along Highway 54 in Peachtree City disrupted water service to businesses across one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors Saturday, forcing restaurants and other businesses to close during a busy weekend shopping and dining day.

Fayette County Water System Director Vanessa Tigert told The Citizen in a text interview at 8:30 p.m. Saturday that businesses along Highway 54 east of MacDuff Parkway to Highway 74 were affected.

“We lost at least 3 million gallons before isolating leak,” Tigert said.

The Fayette County Water System was first called about the problem at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Tigert. Staff arrived at 5 a.m.

By Saturday night, crews were working toward restoring service throughout the affected area.

“We expect water to be available to all affected by midnight tonight with the exception of two businesses in front of where leak occurred,” Tigert said. “By noon tomorrow we will have connected these services back as well.”

The two businesses expected to remain without water until Sunday were not identified Saturday night.

Break near CAVA and Sr. Willy’s

The Citizen drove through the affected area around 9 p.m. Saturday and found yellow tape surrounding the parking lot of the plaza containing CAVA and Sr. Willy’s. Puddles remained throughout the area.

Tigert also shared an image with The Citizen showing water covering landscaping near the site of the break.

The full reach of the outage was not yet clear Saturday evening. Employees in the area indicated businesses as far down Huddleston Road as Golf Rider may have been affected.

Social media reports indicated The Curious Pig, located near Golf Rider, was also closed because of the water main break.

The newly opened J. Alexander’s restaurant was among the restaurants closed Saturday night because of the outage. Its closure drew attention from local residents because the restaurant had only recently opened and would otherwise have been serving customers on a busy Saturday evening.

Other local reports said Walmart’s restrooms were closed and portable toilets had been brought in so the store could remain open during the outage.

It was not immediately known Saturday night exactly how many businesses were affected or whether the outage extended to homes in the area.

Cause remains uncertain

Tigert said officials could not yet determine what caused the 12-inch water line to fail.

“We can only speculate–poor installation of 12 inch line when moved as Hwy 54 widened; remnants of line connection during current 54/74 construction; strain on pipe due to service lines being installed so close together,” Tigert said.

If restoration proceeds as expected, Tigert said water should be available to all affected customers by midnight Saturday except for two businesses immediately in front of the leak. Those final two services are expected to be reconnected by noon Sunday.