After a challenging holiday weekend marked by water outages and emergency repairs, the Baldwin water system is back online, according to Public Works Director Scott Barnhart.
The disruption, which impacted residents on the city’s “mountain system,” stemmed from a leak discovered late Friday afternoon near Sunrise Ridge, across from Road Side Park.
Barnhart said the initial leak required the city to cut off water at the main on Willingham Avenue, located at the top of the mountain system. While that issue was resolved early Saturday morning, reopening the water main led to increased pressure along the old 441 corridor, triggering three additional leaks further down the mountain.
SEE RELATED: UPDATE: Boil water advisory issued for portions of Baldwin
As a result, many customers on the old 441 section of the system were left without water through the Memorial Day weekend.
“Water service to the “mountain system” has now been restored,” Barnhart confirmed Sunday evening. All repairs were completed later Sunday afternoon and water was being restored to the affected area.
However, he noted that full service would take time to reach all affected customers as crews slowly pressurize the system to minimize the risk of more leaks. Barnhart adds that with the size and complexity of the system, it will take quite awhile before the system is fully pressurized and all customers receive water service.
The system is expected to return to normal operation by late Monday morning or early Monday afternoon.
In response to the multiple leaks and service interruptions, the City of Baldwin issued two boil water advisories on Saturday. The advisories remain in effect and apply to all Baldwin water customers on the mountain system from Stonepile Street south to Moss Mill Road, including:
- Sunrise Ridge
- Old Highway 441
- GA 105
- Ferguson Road
- Otis Brown Road
- Harmony Church Road
- Apple Pie Ridge
- Moss Mill Road
- And all connecting side roads
Residents in the affected areas are urged to boil water for at least two minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, preparing baby food, or brushing teeth until the advisory is lifted.
City officials have not yet given a timeline for lifting the advisory but are continuing to monitor the system closely and will notify the public as soon as testing confirms water quality has returned to safe levels.
